What is shingles? Shingles is a painful skin rash. It is caused
by the varicella zoster virus. Shingles usually appears in a
band, a strip, or a small area on one side of the face or body.
It is also called herpes zoster. Shingles is most common in
older adults and people who have weak immune systems because of
stress, injury, certain medicines, or other reasons. Most people
who get shingles will get better and will not get it again. What
causes shingles? Shingles occurs when the virus that causes
chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better
from chickenpox, the virus "sleeps" (is dormant) in your nerve
roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the
virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the
immune system. Some medicines may trigger the virus to wake up
and cause a shingles rash. It is not clear why this happens. But
after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause
shingles, not chickenpox. You can't catch shingles from someone
else who has shingles. B