My girlfriend has shingles and shes only 17, Is this normal? I thought only old people get shingles...?

Question

What is the deal?

Answer 1

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. Also, it is contagious and so if you have not had chicken pox, be very careful because you are highly susceptible. Read the link below it may help you understand what is going on. Shingles can occur at any age...so its not an old people thing.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

I had Shingles for the first time a few weeks ago. I am normally in good health and haven't had any other health challenges before, so it came as a surprise.

Shingles is probably the most painful thing I have ever encountered. I went to the doctor, and he gave me some prescription drugs to take that was suposed to help, but didn't.

My wife found the Fast Shingles Cure ebook online and bought it for me, I am very lucky to have such a wonderful woman in my life. We followed the book, did what it said, and it delivered what it promised. Finally my Shingles rash is over... I feel truly blessed and thankful.

The #1 Shingles Treatment Method Available

Answer 5

Shingles is a virus in your system related to the same virus that causes chicken pox. The worse you had chicken pox as a child, the more chance you have of getting shingles & a worse case of shingles as an adult. The virus can appear at any time - her immune system must have been low for the shingles to overtake her - & at any age. She will need to work on strengthening her immune system. I hope she feels better soon - it seems to me I just read of a new vaccine or treatment for shingles? Perhaps she should check & see if her doctor can recommend treatment. Good luck!

Answer 6

Shingles is the result of infection by the herpes zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. During an attack of chickenpox the virus may find its way to the root of a nerve in the brain or spinal cord. It lies dormant there, often for many years, until it is reactivated. Then the virus multiplies and preduces intense knife-like pain in the nerve where it has lodged. It also causes a rash in the form of groups of blisters to appear on the skin that lies above the nerve. If you have shingles, you can do little except apply calamine lotion to soothe the rash and take an analgesic such as asprin to ease the pain. You should see your physician, however, particularl if your face is affected. The Dr. may prescribe a more effective analgesic. You will need professional advice on how to protect your eyes.

Answer 7

Shingles is caused by a recurrance of the chicken pox virus. Once you have had chicken pox the virus stays dormant in your system and sometimes it flares up again as shingles. It can happen anytime there's no set time frame, often people who have had chicken pox never develop shingles. Watch out though because she is contagious with the chicken pox virus and can infect someone who has not had it before and they will then come down with chicken pox which is what happened to me. (My boyfriend was 25 when he got shingles and gave me chicken pox)

Answer 8

It's just a form of chicken pox- Usually people get shingles, if they never got the chicken pox. Shingles are extremely painful.

Answer 9

It's not unusual adults get shingles (shingles is the adult form of chicken pox) it just means your girlfriends body thinks she's a grown up

Answer 10

Shingles" redirects here, for other uses of the term, see Shingle.
Herpes zoster ICD-10 B02.
ICD-9 053
DiseasesDB 29119
MedlinePlus 000858
eMedicine med/1007

Herpes zoster blisters on the neck and shoulder.Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. In Italy and in Malta, it is sometimes referred to as St. Anthony's fire. Prior to implementation of the universal varicella vaccination program in the U.S., incidence of shingles increased with advancing age. The incidence rate in children aged less than 10 years was approximately 70 cases/100,000 person-years, increasing to 550 cases/100,000 person-years among adults aged 50 to 59 years. Historically, it was thought that shingles incidence increased due to an age-related decline in immunity; however, recent studies [citation needed] suggest that incidence of shingles is linked to the frequency of periodic exogenous (outside) exposures to children with varicella (chickenpox). These exposures produced an immunologic boost that helped suppress the reactivation of shingles. Shingles incidence is high in the elderly (over 60), as well as in any age group of immunocompromised patients. It affects some 1 million people per year in the United States and can involve excruciating pain. Treatment is generally with antiviral drugs such as Aciclovir. Many patients develop a painful condition called postherpetic neuralgia which is often difficult to manage.

In some patients, herpes zoster can reactivate subclinically with pain in a dermatomal distribution without rash. This condition is known as zoster sine herpete and may be more complicated, affecting multiple levels of the nervous system and causing multiple cranial neuropathies, polyneuritis, myelitis, or aseptic meningitis.

The word herpes comes from the Greek word for snake; it is cognate with herpetology[1].