Shingles overview
A viral infection affecting the nerves and skin
Shingles is a viral infection caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. You can only develop shingles if you have already had chickenpox at some point in your life.
The virus that causes chickenpox and shingles is the herpes zoster virus, and the medical term for shingles is ‘herpes zoster’.
Around one in three people who have not received the chickenpox vaccination and who have had chickenpox in the past, go on to develop shingles.
Causes of shingles
How the shingles virus becomes reactivated
The direct cause of shingles is the reactivation of the virus in someone who has previously had chickenpox. The virus can lie dormant for many years in nerve cells close to the spine before becoming reactivated to cause shingles, which affects the nerves.
It is not fully understood what causes this reactivation of the virus.
Shingles Test And Diagnosis
Diagnosing shingles and recognising urgent symptoms
Shingles is relatively easily diagnosed simply by reviewing symptoms and seeing the rash/blisters. Your doctor may take a sample from the blisters to confirm the diagnosis.
Where the area affected is near the eye, there is a possibility of permanent damage to the eye, so if this is the case, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Anyone affected by additional symptoms such as a severe headache, memory loss, confusion or fever, should also seek immediate medical attention.
It is important to have shingles treated as soon as any of these symptoms appear, since if untreated, pain and other symptoms can last for a long time. This is called ‘post-herpetic neuralgia’. In some cases, the rash and blisters can become infected.
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