Chickenpox is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). A highly contagious disease, chickenpox causes an extremely itchy blister-littered rash to appear on the body. The face, scalp and trunk of the body generally have a higher concentration of blisters than the rest of the body. While those who are vaccinated generally have a milder case of chickenpox than the unvaccinated, it is still possible to contract the disease. Once contracted, the virus remains in the body and can reappear as shingles later in life.
Shingles
Generally speaking, when someone has chickenpox once, they will not have a re-occurrence of that disease. A similar disease, also caused by the VZV, called "shingles," can appear later in life when the hibernating virus is reactivated. When the virus reappears, it travels along nerve pathways to the skin, usually to the skin of the trunk or the face. It causes a painful, blister-filled rash to appear. Fever, fatigue and headache can accompany the outbreak. In extreme cases, pneumonia, hearing loss, blindness and encephalitis can result. Shingles generally affects people over the age of 50. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that the herpes zoster vaccine, Zostavax, can prevent shingles. Further, according to CDC, one in three people will develop shingles at some point during their lifetime.
Herpes Simplex Virus, Type 1
Herpes simplex virus, type 1 (HSV-1) is a viral infection that mostly causes cold sores, or fever blisters, around the lips and mouth. It can also cause ocular herpes, an infection in the eye that can lead to loss of vision and even blindness. HSV-1 is not generally considered to be a sexually transmitted disease (STD) because it can be transmitted without sexual contact taking place. Like the herpes zoster virus, HSV-1 lies dormant within the body and reactivates at certain times. Stress, sickness, injury, immunosuppressant drugs and sunburn are known triggers. It is important to note that HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, though it generally does not. A rule of thumb, one that is not absolute, is that HSV-1 causes herpes outbreaks above the waist while HSV-2 causes outbreaks below the waist.
Herpes Simplex Virus, Type 2
Herpes simplex virus, type 2 (HSV-2) is the usual culprit in genital herpes. It is therefore considered to be a STD. HSV-2 can be transmitted through genital to genital sex, oral to genital sex, even digital to genital sex, if there is an outbreak on the hand, called "herpetic whitlow." Like HSV-1, an outbreak causes painful blisters to appear on the skin. Oftentimes, the first outbreak, called the primary outbreak, occurs within weeks of infection and is the most painful of outbreaks. Subsequent outbreaks, called recurrent outbreaks, tend to occur less frequently and to be less intense than the primary outbreak. The CDC reports that as many as 80 percent of people with herpes don't know they have the disease because they have never had an outbreak or because their symptoms are so mild they do not notice.
