Is there a connection between cold sores and shingles?

Is there a connection between cold sores and shingles?

Colds sores and shingles are distinct viruses, but you can think of them as cousins since they have the same great, great, great-grandparents (belong to the same viral subfamily, Alphaherpesvirinae).

What makes you more likely to get shingles?

Age and weak immune system increase your risk of getting shingles. Although anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles, your risk of developing shingles increases with age. Most people get shingles in their 50s or later in life.

Who is more apt to get shingles?

Who is at risk of getting shingles? Shingles is most common in elderly adults and those with weakened immune systems. Your risk of getting shingles increases with age. Approximately 50% of all shingles cases occur in adults over the age of 60, which is due in large part to their compromised immune systems.

Does shingles mean you have a weakened immune system?

The primary risk factor associated with getting shingles is a weakened immune system. When your immune system isn’t functioning properly, VZV can reactivate. As you age, your immune system doesn’t fight off invaders as well.

Are people prone to shingles?

Shingles is most common in people older than 50. The risk increases with age. Having certain diseases. Diseases that weaken your immune system, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, can increase your risk of shingles.

What age is most likely to get shingles?

The risk of contracting shingles increases with age starting at around 50, and is highest in the elderly. Half of people living to age 85 have had or will get shingles. The risk of experiencing chronic pain also increases with age.

Can you get shingles multiple times?

If you’ve had shingles once, you probably won’t get it again. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, it’s just unlikely. Also called herpes zoster, shingles can come back a second or, rarely, a third time.