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Are Shingles Contagious
In the United States, each year nearly one million people are afflicted by shingles, also known as herpes zoster. Shingles is a painful viral infection, which is caused by the chicken pox virus. Shingles can develop in anyone who has had chicken pox. |
More than 1 out of every 10 people who have had chicken pox as children get shingles as adults. This usually happens after the age of 60 but it is not unheard of children getting shingles after a mild case of chicken pox.
Usually the chicken pox virus stays dormant in the nerve root cells of the body after the chicken pox disappears. But in some people the virus becomes active and causes shingles. Shingles causes a blisters accompanied with severe burning pain, tingling or extreme sensitivity of the skin. Usually the outbreak is limited to one side of the body and lasts for a month.
Are Shingles Contagious?
In a sense yes, shingles is contagious. Shingles can spread from an infected person to children or adults who have not had chicken pox. These children and adults develop chicken pox instead of developing shingles; and once they have had chicken pox, they cannot contract shingles from someone else. However, they have the potential of developing shingles later in life.
Shingles is especially contagious to children and adults who have not had chicken pox when new blisters are forming and old blisters are healing. However, once all the blisters crust over, the shingles virus can no longer infect or spread.
There are several effective treatments for shingles and many antiviral drugs like acyclovir, valacyclovir and famcicolvir help to reduce the severity and duration of the rash as long as the drugs are started within 72 hours of the appearance of the rash.
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Are Shingles Contagious
Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. After a person gets chicken pox, the chicken pox virus does not leave the body. Instead it lives in the nervous system in a dormant and inactive condition. When the virus becomes active in the nervous system, it causes shingles. 
