Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, or VZV. The virus leads to a group of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome (an area of skin innervated by a vertebral nerve). ...

Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, or VZV. The virus leads to a group of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome (an area of skin innervated by a vertebral nerve).

After an attack of chicken pox, the varicella-zoster virus retreats to nerve cells within the ganglion or the spinal cord, where it lies dormant for several months up to several decades. Aging, stress, or disease causes the virus to reactivate and reproduce, at which point it is called "herpes zoster". The herpes zoster travels along the path of a nerve to the skin's surface, where it causes shingles.