Causes of shinglesThe causes of shingles can be boiled down to one main one: you must have previously had chicken pox or the vaccine for it. Once the varicella zoster virus has entered your body - either by the common childhood disease or the immunization for it - it can remain latent in nerve cells and reactivate at any time. The virus in its latent (inactive) form is never infectious. It must 'awaken' to become infectious, and research is underway to determine exactly what triggers a reactivation.
The photo of the baby at left shows the widespread pattern characteristic of chicken pox. By comparison, the skin lesions of a herpes zoster rash follow a path along the affected nerve, generally on one side of the body. Risk FactorsThe virus reactivates in 10% - 20% of adults in whom the virus is latent, so it stands to reason that certain factors exist to increase the risk for such outbreaks. • Age - Although children can get herpes zoster, it is much more common in people over the age of 50 - and more than half the cases occur in people over 60. • Steroids and drug treatments - For example, you might get shingles if you take steroids or have the virus that causes AIDS, have undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer or had an organ transplant. • An illness, trauma or major stress may trigger the virus. Note: It's possible that a signal in your body conveys the information that your immune system is struggling, however most people who get shingles are quite healthy. Most of the time, only one attack occurs, yet what makes the virus suddenly become active again is not clear. Further studies are underway to help pinpoint exactly what those triggers are. Although the causes of shingles may be limited to a reactivation of the virus already in your body, knowing how to avoid the awakening of the virus can save you from a painful experience and serious complications. I'll lean on you and you lean on me and we'll be okay Dave Matthews More about Shingles Postherpetic neuralgia and other complications
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