A painful rash caused from the Chicken Pox virus.

Shingles (Herpes Zoster) is a painful blistering rash caused by reactivation of Chicken Pox virus. which usually occurs in childhood. The virus ends up and remains dormant in the nerve cells in the spinal cord, which supply sensation to the skin. The virus remains in a resting phase in these nerve cells for years before it is reactivated and grows down the nerves to the skin to produce shingles (zoster). It is uncommon in childhood but the incidence increases with age. Shingles patients are infectious while active lesions are present and persons coming in contact with skin lesions may develop chickenpox from exposure to the infected patient.