Shingles: Symptoms, Complications and Prevention!

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection that no one wants to deal with. The intense pain and rash are just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll explain what shingles is, why it occurs, who is most likely to develop it, and how you can protect yourself or treat the condition.

What is shingles?

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox. If you’ve had chickenpox at some point in your life, you should know that the virus hasn’t completely gone away; it lies dormant in your nerve cells, waiting for an opportunity to reappear.

Sometimes, years later, when your immune system is weaker or under stress, it can reawaken as shingles, causing a painful, blistering rash.