What Are The Causes Of Shingles? Who Are Most Likely To Get Affected By This?

If once in your life you ever get to have chickenpox, you can get shingles. The question is how. Well chickenpox is caused by the virus called varicella-zoster virus and shingles is caused by the reactivation of this virus. Even after you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays inactive or in other words stays dormant in your nerve roots. On one hand, in some people, it may stay dormant for the rest of their lives.

But on the other hand, the virus reactivates when disease, stress, or aging start weakening the immune system. The reason of reactivation of the virus is blurred; however, once it does reactivate, it causes shingles, not another case of chickenpox. Most of the people who get shingles will not get the disease again, although it does come back in a few people.
The most likely person to get shingles is the one who have had chickenpox, even if it's a mild case. But you have an increased risk of developing shingles if you:

• Are older than 50.
• Have an autoimmune disease, meaning your immune system attacks its own tissues as though they were foreign substances.
• Have another medical condition or stress that weakens the immune system.
The point to be most clear about is that ONE CANNOT DEVELOP SHINGLES IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD CHICKENPOX.