Shingles & after-shingles pain

Each year, approximately 1 million Americans will develop herpes zoster¹, a painful viral infection more commonly known as shingles. Shingles is an infection caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus, but not everyone who had chickenpox will develop shingles².

Once you have chicken pox, the virus can stay quiet in the nerve tissue of your body for years. But for many people, the virus "awakens" and forms blisters on the skin². You may get a few blisters or an extensive rash that can occur on one side of the body or face³.

Shingles can occur on the torso – chest and back – waistline, upper arms or side of the face². Shingles is generally not contagious, but it can be. If you have never had chicken pox or the shingles vaccine and you have contact with a person with shingles, you could contract chicken pox³. In otherwise healthy people, the rash may disappear without major consequences in two to four weeks².

As you get older, the likelihood of having further problems from shingles increases. Problems can also increase if you wait too long to get help for the shingles rash or if you have a weak immune system³. Shingles typically affects people ages 50 years or older with weakened immune systems², and more than half of those with shingles will go on to develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or after-shingles pain⁴².