Shingles is a painful rash that is brought about by the reactivation of the chicken pox virus that resides in a nerve root for life. Also called herpes zoster, it belongs to the herpes family of viruses – the same family that bring you cold sores (herpes simplex virus-1), mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), and genital herpes (herpes simplex virus-2).

Because chicken pox is a rash that spreads across the body, the virus can reside in more than one nerve root. Whenever you get run down, the virus can get reactivated and travels back along the nerve to the skin where it begins to replicate. People more susceptible to getting shingles are anyone on immunosuppressants, or those whose immune systems are suppressed because of illness (cancer, HIV etc).

What isn’t clear yet is whether people who have been vaccinated against chicken pox can get shingles in the future. There is certainly a theoretical possibility. Since shingles usually affects adults over 40, we’ll find out when the first group of kids who received the chicken pox vaccination in 1995 begin to age.

Over the next week or so, I’ll explore in more detail information about diagnosis, treatment and prevention as well as address questions about who is likely to get shingles, who should get the shingles vaccination, and how it is spread.