Healthy U: How to detect shingles

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By NBC Augusta Staff

Story Published: Nov 4, 2008 at 6:48 PM EDT

Story Updated: Nov 4, 2008 at 6:48 PM EDT

Tuesday's Healthy U topic talks about what you need to know about shingles.

One out of three people in America will develop shingles during their lifetime.

Shingles are a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.

The chickenpox virus stays in your body and can cause problems later in life.

Shingles is common in older people because of the decrease in the immunity to the virus. The disease increases in frequency with every 10 years above age 50.

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to person.

A person with active shingles can transmit the shingles virus and cause chickenpox in a person who has never had chickenpox through direct contact with the shingles rash.

Early signs are burning, tingling, itching sensation or rash of blisters (shingles) in a bandlike pattern.

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