Shingles

Shingles is a viral infection of the nerve roots. It causes pain and often causes a rash on one side of the body, the left or right. The rash appears in a band, or a strip, or a small area. 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 shingles again.
Shingles occurs when the virus the cause’s 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. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, nit chickenpox. You can’t catch shingles from someone else who has shingles. But a person with a shingles rash can spread chickenpox to another person who hasn’t had chickenpox and who hasn’t gotten the chickenpox vaccine.
Shingle systems happen in stages. At first you may have a headache or be sensitive to light. You may also feel like you have the flu but not have a fever. Later, you may feel itching, tingling, or pain in a certain area. That’s where a band, strip, or small area of rash may occur a few days later. The rash turns into clusters of blisters. The blisters fill with fluid and then crust over. It takes 2 to 4 weeks for the blisters to heal, and they may leave scars. Some people only get a mild rash, and some do not get a rash at all. It’s possible that you could also feel dizzy or weak, or you could have long-term pain or a rash on your face, changes in your vision, changes in how well you can think, or r rash that spreads.
There are also some complications of shingles like postherpetic neuralgia, which is pain that does not go away within 1 month. It may last for months or even years after shingles heal. People who have severe pain and...