Shingles is an adult-onset form of chickenpox that can be painful and debilitating for sufferers, with rashes and even paralysis a common side effect. But, it can also be easy to miss the early warning signs.
Rather than being a new infection, chickenpox (varicella-zoster virus) lies dormant in the human nervous system until it re-activates later on in life. Like the common pox, adults will often only experience one bout of shingles in their lives.
One in three adults will experience shingles, which usually affects one part of the body and leads to rashes, sore skin and fluid-filled blisters. Before the virus reaches that point though, there are some key early indicators of an infection.
