Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox – the varicella zoster virus. When you recover from chickenpox most of the virus is destroyed but some survives and lies inactive in the nervous system. This can then reactivate later in life when your immune system is weakened by increasing age, stress or conditions/treatments that reduce your immunity.

Shingles is an infection of a nerve and the area of skin that it serves, resulting in clusters of painful, itchy, fluid-filled blisters. These blisters can burst and turn into sores that eventually crust over and heal.

These blisters usually affect an area on one side of the body, most commonly the chest but sometimes also the head, face and eye.

Shingles can be very painful and tends to affect people more commonly as they get older. The older you are, the worse it can be.