First you get chicken pox. That's your encounter with the virus.
Then, the virus lies dormant in your spine and waits.
Waits for a time when your body is weakened due to stress or some other thing like a flu that won't go away or something.
Then the virus breaks out again - as shingles.
There is no 2nd contamination involved.
At least, that's what they think atm.
I had shingles when I was 16 - on the facial nerve, upper trigeminal or what it's called, including the eye. No damage to the eye.
But it is assumed that the first onset of trigeminal neuralgia at the age of 27 (during a stressful time at university) was somehow connected to the shingles infection. (Symptom: horrible waves of tooth ache and no help with normal pain killers.)
I have not had shingles again, yet.
But several incidents of said neuralgia.
(Only at the third incident, a dentist finally wondered how I had lost all the teeth on the left side and why he was about to pull another one. He did pull it - but the next day, he gave me call and sent me to a neurologist.
Since then, I know a medication that works against the awful pain.
and haven't lost another tooth. yay
)
My housemate had shingles just 2 weeks ago, too. I was not infected by it. *knocking on wood*
One of the pre-school mates of her son recently had chicken pox and one of the teachers came down with shingles, recently, too.
So maybe, it is
not correct that you can
not get shingles from a renewed exposure to the virus.
Funny, too, that in Europe, I have not heard from anybody that they had shingles (maybe I did - but on a very small scale, if so.)
And now here in NZ (and Aus), it seems to be quite common.
Is it the stress from the laid-back way of life?
Is it the ozone hole?
Is it some pre-vaccine promotion? Pharmaceutical companies bringing shingles into everybodie's awareness before they launch their vaccine in 3 years?
Get well soon!
