Shingles and Chickenpox are Caused by the Same Virus

How are Shingles and Chickenpox related?

If you remember someone or yourself getting chickenpox as a child then you might know that it causes skin rashes. Chickenpox is caused by a virus known as varicella-zoster. The virus is highly contagious and causes an itchy rash that affects the whole body.

You can get singles later in life if you have had chickenpox in childhood.

As someone recovers from chickenpox their body is never completely free of the virus. Instead, the virus stays inside the body in the less active or dormant form inside the nerves. In some people, the virus remains harmlessly for the rest of their lives. While in other people the inactive virus can suddenly get active and cause the disease again. This time the disease is known as shingles.

What is the difference between the rash of chickenpox and shingles?

Similar to chickenpox, shingles also causes a vesicular rash but it does not involve the whole body. The rash of shingles is more localized to an area of the body and involves one side of the body only, either right or left. It usually appears as a painful band on the chest or tummy but can also affect the face eyes and genitals.

Do all the people who suffered from chickenpox in the past get shingles?

Not all people who suffered from chickenpox in their childhood get shingles later in life. For some people virus does not get activated for the rest of their lives. Experts have not fully understood why the virus gets activated in some people and it stays completely dormant in others. One of the theories is that changes in one's immune system cause the virus to reactivate. It is the body's immune system that holds the virus in check, and due to many reasons, the body's immune system may get weaker.

Age
Certain illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and autoimmune diseases
Medications that suppress the immune system, cancer drugs, steroids, medications prescribed for people who have undergone organ transplantation
Certain genetic factors

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