What Is Shingles?
Shingles (also known as
herpes zoster) is a condition caused by a reinfection with the varicella-zoster virus. The varicella-zoster virus that causes shingles is the same virus that causes
chickenpox. The infection with this virus just tends to occur during different decades of a person's life.
Shingles is not contagious. Therefore, a person who comes in contact with an infected person will not develop shingles. However, although shingles is not contagious, contact with a person with shingles can cause chickenpox in someone who has never had chickenpox or the
chickenpox vaccine.
(Click Causes of Shingles to learn more about the varicella-zoster virus and how it reactivates to cause shingles.)
Risk Factors for Shingles
Shingles is most common in people over age 50, but if you have had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, you are at risk for developing shingles. Shingles disease is also more common in people with weakened immune systems from
HIV infection (or
AIDS), chemotherapy or radiation treatment, transplant operations (such as a kidney transplant or stem cell transplant), and stress.
The shingles symptoms a person experiences will vary. For some people, the
symptoms of shingles can be very mild; for others, especially in older adults, symptoms can be debilitating. There is no way to predict who will develop shingles symptoms, how severe they will be, or whether a person will develop
shingles complications.
(Click Shingles Symptoms to learn more about the specific symptoms of shingles, including specific early symptoms.)