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What exactly is shingles and is it contagious?
Tags: shingles
Herpes zoster, more commonly known as shingles is a painful infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that gives people chicken pox. Inactive copies of the virus lay dormant in the nerves of those who have contracted and recovered from chicken pox in their past. When this virus is reactivated a person then has shingles.
Shingles begins by manifesting itself as a painful burning or tingling in a band or line on either the face or torso. A rash will develop in that area after a few days, drying and hardening over time. All in all, it can take up to five weeks for the effects; rash and pain of shingles to dissipate fully. To answer the end of your question, the symptoms of shingles as described above cannot be caught from someone with active shingles; however those who have never had chicken pox or received the varicella vaccination are highly susceptible to catching chicken pox.
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