What is shingles and is it contagious? How is it linked to chicken pox?

SHINGLES is an infection that causes an agonising rash and makes you feel pretty rubbish.

The condition is serious enough to merit seeing your GP — so what are the symptoms to look out for?

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What is shingles and how is it linked to chickenpox?

Shingles is caused by an infection that re-triggers the varicella zoster virus (VZV).

VZV firsts infects the body when you get chickenpox, and the virus can remain inactive in nerve cells to reappear as shingles.

It is not fully understood what can trigger shingles, but old age, a poor immune system and having had chickenpox before 18-months are risk factors.

What are the symptoms of shingles and what does the rash look like?

The most common first signs of shingles are tingling or pains in patches of the skin.

Headaches are also the first symptoms to appear.

A rash can then start to crop up, usually on the chest or stomach — but it can also appear on the face, eyes and genitals, according to the NHS.

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A shingles rash appears as red blotches on your skin, on one side of your body only.

So it's important to know a rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.

The blotches become itchy blisters that ooze fluid, before the blisters dry out and scab a few days later.

The rash can form a band that only appears on one side of your body.

It can often be painful until after the rash has gone.

You should speak to a GP as soon as you suspect you have shingles as medication can speed up recovery.

This works best if it's taken within three days of symptoms starting.

However it's best to have an appointment over the phone, to avoid coming into contact with someone more vulnerable.

How do you treat shingles?

Along with taking prescribed medication, the NHS recommends:

• using painkillers to ease shingles pain
• keeping the rash clean and dry to reduce risk of infection
• wearing loose-fitting clothing
• buying calamine lotion to ease itching
• using a cool compress (a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel or a wet cloth will do) a few times a day

You shouldn't let dressings or plasters stick to the rash or use antibiotic creams as they slow down the healing process.

Is shingles contagious?

Shingles are contagious while the rash oozes fluid — but you can’t get shingles from someone with shingles or chickenpox.

You can get chickenpox from someone with shingles, if you haven’t had chickenpox before.

If you're pregnant and you get shingles it shouldn't be a problem, but tell your GP anyway.

The NHS recommends avoiding contact with:

• pregnant women who have not had chickenpox before
• people with a weakened immune system, such as someone having chemotherapy
• babies less than one-month-old (unless it is your own baby, as they should be protected from the virus by your immune system)