You probably know someone ― whether a parent, sibling, uncle, friend or even yourself ― who has come down with the blistering rash known as shingles. Roughly one-third of American adults, specifically those over 50, will develop shingles.
“Shingles is a painful skin infection,” said Dr. Joyce Chen, a primary care physician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “It is actually caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.”
If you’ve had chickenpox, the virus that causes it doesn’t actually go away. Instead, it stays dormant in the body until there’s some sort of trigger. When the virus is reactivated, it then travels to “nerve cells along the skin and causes a blistering, painful rash,” Chen said.
This won’t happen to everyone who had chickenpox. For some people, the virus stays dormant forever, said Dr. Graham Snyder, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Yet, 1 in 3 American adults who had chickenpox will get shingles in their lifetime.
The main symptom of shingles is a distinct rash.
The hallmark sign of shingles is a painful, blistering, burning rash. It tends to appear as a strip on one side of the body, according to Snyder, such as across the torso, down the leg, across the thigh or on the arm.
The rash usually doesn’t cross both sides of the body, Chen noted.
“It can appear anywhere on the body because, obviously, we have nerves all over our body, but certain areas can lead to more potential complications,” Chen explained. “If that nerve is along or near the eye, that can lead to some serious visual complications, even vision loss, and if that nerve that’s affected is along the ear, it can also lead to hearing loss.”
Since it involves the nerves, shingles is extremely painful. “It can feel hot, could be very itchy — usually people describe it as a burning pain,” Snyder said.
More, shingles can be contagious, but only in people who have lost their immunity to chickenpox, said Dr. Abigail Waldman, the medical director of Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery Center at Mass General Brigham.
“If you have shingles, you’re not necessarily going to give somebody shingles, but you might give somebody chickenpox if they haven’t had chickenpox” or the chickenpox vaccine, Waldman added.
It can be dangerous for newborns and even pregnant people and their unborn baby, Walden said.
Generally, though, shingles “tends not to pass from person to person, only because you already have the virus,” Walden said.
Shingles occurs in 1 in 3 adults who had chickenpox.
It’s important to seek treatment quickly if you have shingles.
There are antivirals available that are commonly used to treat shingles, and they come with very few side effects. “The antivirals, if given early, can reduce the duration of the illness,” Snyder added.
The antivirals also have another benefit: They can reduce the risk of a painful shingles complication known as postherpetic neuralgia, which is “pain or burning that lasts even after the rash goes away,” Waldman said.
“It can be prevented or reduced by the shingles vaccine, as well as early antiviral treatment if it’s started within three days of shingles showing up,” Waldman added.
Unfortunately, you can get shingles more than once, Snyder said. “You probably have about a one in 100 chance of getting shingles again in the next year, or several percent chance over the next several years.”
“It is not a one-and-done for some people … which is why your doctor can give you guidance on getting a shingles vaccine, even if you’ve had shingles,” Snyder added.
The vaccine can help reduce the likelihood of it coming back.
Older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of shingles.
Shingles is more likely to occur as you get older, Snyder said, specifically once you hit 50 or older. “As we get older, the likelihood goes up and up and up,” he said.
People who have weakened immune systems, whether due to medication or a health condition, are also at higher risk of shingles, Snyder said. “It’s pretty uncommon if you’re young. Not impossible, but pretty uncommon.”
In younger people, it can be triggered by issues that suppress your immune system, including stress, according to Waldman. “If you are young and you get shingles, it should prompt you to stop and think,” Waldman said, before adding that your doctor may want to run some tests to see if there’s a cause.
There is a shingles vaccine available to older adults and immunocompromised people.
The best way to prevent shingles from occurring is by getting the shingles vaccine, which is known as the Shingrix vaccine, experts told HuffPost.
Not everyone can get the shot, though. “The vaccine is indicated for anyone over 50 years old, because as you get older you’re at higher risk for shingles,” Waldman said.
Certain people under 50 who are immunocompromised may also be eligible for the vaccine, Waldman added. If you are younger but immunocompromised, it’s worth talking to your doctor about your options.
It’s also helpful to control your stress as much as possible, along with other factors that can impact your immune system. “Eat well, sleep enough, things like that,” Waldman said.
It’s also good to take care of your mental health and get in physical activity. “Just sort of general wellness lifestyle can absolutely help protect you against shingles, just because that is also trying to get your immune system nice and healthy,” Chen said.
