How Are Chicken Pox and Shingles Related?

How are chicken pox and shingles related?

If you’ve had chickenpox, you’re at risk of another disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus called shingles.

After a chickenpox infection, some of the varicella-zoster virus may remain in your nerve cells. Many years later, the virus can reactivate and resurface as shingles. The virus is more likely to reappear in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Shingles can lead to a condition in which the pain of shingles persists long after the blisters disappear. This complication, called postherpetic neuralgia, can be severe.

A shingles vaccine Zostavax is available and is recommended for adults age 60 and older who have had chickenpox.

To learn more you should go to a medical professional.

Keyword: chicken pox shingles; chicken pox+ shingles

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