Health Tip: Shingles 101

(HealthDay News) — Shingles is a painful rash that is caused by the herpes zoster virus, the same one that causes chickenpox.

After triggering chickenpox, the virus may lay dormant inside the body and re-emerge as shingles, typically after a person reaches age 50.

Although there is no cure, shingles can be prevented and treated, the
U.S. National Institute on Aging says.

The agency offers this information:

Typical symptoms of shingles include burning, radiating pain, itching or tingling, headache, upset stomach and or blisters that most often develop on the waist and face.
Healthy adults older than 50 should consider getting the shingles vaccine.
Shingles is not typically contagious, but it can spread during the blister phase, so it’s a good idea to keep the rash covered.
Shingles tends to last 3-5 weeks.
People tend to get shingles once in a lifetime, but it is possible to get it more than once.
1 in 3 people will develop shingles.