Shingles in Children Pictures - 16 Photos & Images

Shingles, also called zoster or herpes zoster, is a skin rash caused by a viral infection of the nerves just below the skin. Shingles usually appears as a stripe of irritated skin and blisters on one side of the chest or back, but it can occur anywhere on the body, including on the face and near the eyes. Many cases of shingles have mild symptoms, but more severe cases can be very painful. Luckily, kids and teens almost always have mild cases; the severe cases usually only happen in older people.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, which is highly contagious. So it can be easy for a child to pass the virus to others who aren't immune to chickenpox (those who have never had chickenpox or didn't get the chickenpox vaccine). Someone who is infected this way will develop chickenpox, though, not shingles. While most cases of shingles will run their course and disappear in less than a month, treatments are available that can lower a child's risk of complications and speed healing.