Herpes zoster, herpes zoster, is a very contagious and painful rash or blister that appears on the skin. These rashes most commonly appear on the sides of the body in stripes. The streaks are made up of many very painful blisters caused by a certain type of virus. The varicella zoster virus, more commonly known as the chickenpox virus, attacks the nerve roots in that area. The shingles virus belongs to the herpes family, including HSV, the simple herpes virus, which causes cold sores, fever blisters, and genital herpes. (WebMD, 2011) Most people are required to get the chickenpox vaccine when they are children, although some are not. The chickenpox vaccine helps keep the virus away by keeping it dormant in your nerves. The varicella zoster virus remains in a few cells; this is what shingles suddenly looks like. It appears when dormant cells become active in the last years of life. It is not known why inactive cells suddenly become active again, although scientists and doctors have narrowed down the most common targets of shingles. These primary targets are people over the age of sixty, those who are affected by chickenpox before turning one, and those whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight off any disease. A human's immune system can be weakened by a few things, but mostly diseases and certain medications such as chemotherapy and radiation. About a million people a year are diagnosed with shingles, but this only applies to people who have sought medical attention. People over the age of sixty are twice as likely to get shingles as those under sixty. The possibility of contracting herpes zoster increases with age, after the age of 60 it increases much faster. (http://www.shinglesinfo.com/risk-factors.html, 2011)If a child or adult has been ex...... middle of paper......les.emedtv.com/posterpetic - neuralgia/posterpetic-neuralgia.html, 2011) Shingles has affected many people over the years. Every day new discoveries are made to cure postherpatic neuralgia and just the virus in general. If a cure was found for shingles, it should work for chickenpox too. They are the same virus, but chickenpox is the early stage. A cure for shingles would help children and adults alike. Works CitedPubMed Health. (2010). Symptoms of Herpes Zoster. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001861/Shingles E-med. (2011). Herpes zoster risk factors. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://shingles.emedtv.com/shingles/shingles-risk-factors.htmlWeb MD: Shingles Health Center. (2011) Symptoms of herpes zoster. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-symptoms