Shingles is a painful rash or blisters on the skin. It is caused by the same virus—herpes varicella-zoster—that causes chickenpox, which is highly contagious. Chickenpox usually affects kids under age 15 and creates an itchy, uncomfortable rash that turns into blisters. While shingles itself is not contagious, you can also catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles if you have direct contact with fluid from their rash.
After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in certain nerve cells in the body and can reactivate later in life. This second eruption of the chickenpox virus is called shingles.
What are the symptoms?
