assuming you do have shingles (your description was not convincing) a person must have had chicken pox in the past. a new exposure to someone with chicken pox may give you shingles (herpes zoster). since chicken pox is contagious a day before many people do not know who exposed them 2 or 3 weeks prior. chicken pox (varicella) is very contagious by direct contact or fomites (objects contaminated by the varicella virus. shingles is really the same virus but fortunately not as contagious. one can get it by direct exposure however.
how is shingles contagious. when i saw my doctor about a small bump on my arm she said i had the shingles virus. i did not have a rash anywhere on my body. i never had chicken pox but did have measles as a child. i searched the web for an answer but they were confusing. one person said that shingles is contagious and another says that its not. i got a blood test and she said i had the virus. my question is if it is contagious how was it transmitted to me. she said i was exposed who had chicken pox when i was child. help.