Daily Health News Blog

Did you know that if you had chicken pox as a child, the infection can stage a painful reappearance later in life in the form of herpes zoster -- better known as shingles? Your risk of shingles increases with age: As you get older, the virus can reactivate and migrate along the path of a nerve to the surface of the skin. This can cause severe burning or shooting pain, tingling and itching that's typically concentrated on one side of your body, usually on your chest or back, but sometimes on your face. Within a day or two, a rash of blisters may form in a band or strip pattern on your skin and persist for up to 14 days.   The immune system link.  Shingles is thought to be caused by a weakened immune system owing to aging or illnesses such as chronic lung or kidney disease and cancer. People with autoimmune diseases are at increased risk as well: Several studies suggest that immune-suppressing drugs used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel synd