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Shingles (also known as herpes zoster) is an infection of a nerve and the skin around it. Shingles is caused by the same virus which causes chickenpox. Unlike other infectious diseases, you don’t catch it from someone else.
Most people get chickenpox when they are young. The virus that causes chickenpox can stay in your body for the rest of your life without you knowing it is there. However, it can become active again later in life. It is not clear why this happens, but it’s often linked to a weakened immune system caused by ageing, illness, stress or medication.