
Originally Posted by
dukkitdalaw
....Shingles (herpes zoster) is a painful skin rash caused by a reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus. When you have had chickenpox, the chickenpox virus lies dormant in your nerve roots. For many people, it remains dormant, but for others (about 1 in 5) the virus may be reactivated years later when the immune system is compromised, causing shingles. Most people who get shingles have only one episode; although multiple episodes are possible if the immune system is compromised by AIDS, leukemia, or other causes.
Causes of Shingles
The virus is reactivated when the immune system is compromised, for example, by disease (especially autoimmune deficiency diseases such as AIDS) or stress. Often, however, no cause of reactivation can be pinpointed.
Only people who have had chickenpox can get shingles. Contact with an infected person will not reactivate the virus in those who have already had chickenpox. However, a person who has not had chickenpox may get it through contact with a person who has shingles.
Shingles can be extremely painful and unpleasant, but it is rarely dangerous. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia: pain that continues after shingles heals. This usually disappears within one year.