It sounds like something you put on the roof of a house, but shingles is also the name of a virus that older people get when they are stressed or ill. Caused by the chicken pox virus, it usually is no big deal, although sometimes there is a lingering pain that can last for months. Dr. Todd Minars of Minars Dermatology in Hollywood, Florida, says the good news is that shingles is easy to recognize, and usually clears up easily..
The official name for shingles is “herpes zoster” and it is caused by a virus called the Varicella Zoster Virus, or VCZ. This is the virus that causes chickenpox, and as a child you usually get it, and it stays with you for the rest of your life.
The virus can come back when you are older, stressed out, run down, ill, or sometimes for no reason at all. But you don’t end up getting chickenpox again from the virus. Instead, you get shingles. That means that the same virus that gave you chickenpox now comes out as shingles.
This time when you get shingles it takes a different form than chickenpox. It primarily is a skin disease affecting one side of your body in one line. You will have some blisters and bumps come out, and it is a characteristic virus, meaning that a dermatologist would have to take just one look to diagnose it.
Contagious - and Potentially Dangerous
When patients ask about shingles, they often want to know if it contagious. Shingles is contagious to people who have not had chickenpox. But they will not catch shingles; they will catch chickenpox. So they will need to stay away from those who have not had chickenpox, or who have not been vaccinated against it, especially people who are immuno-suppressed because they have cancer or for some other reasons.
They will also need to stay away from pregnant women who have not had chickenpox before. If you catch chickenpox when you are pregnant, it can cause spontaneous abortion or fetal abnormalities.
Effective Vaccine
Recently they have introduced a vaccine for shingles. It seems to be effective and is recommended for patients over age 6o. The reason there is a vaccine is mainly because a certain percentage of people who have shingles get a bad case, and actually end up with pain that lasts longer then the shingles themselves.
What that means is that the rash goes away and they are left with a pain that can continue for weeks and even months. That is called “post-herpetic neuralgia.” That is really the consequence we are trying to prevent. Anyone can live with shingles for a week or two, but nobody want post-herpetic neuralgia. And now with the vaccine, you can prevent it.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
