Experts Corner

Yes, a person can get shingles more than once. It reoccurs in an estimated one to five percent of patients and it can reappear many years after the first shingles episode. If shingles strikes a second time, it will usually not appear in the same location. Most people who seem to experience multiple episodes of shingles are probably having a recurring infection with a related herpes simplex virus, such as cold sores, and not true shingles¹.