shingles [ˈʃɪŋɡlz]
noun
(Med) herpes (zoster); (m) This disorder is commonly known as shingles and usually affects people between the ages of forty and seventy. Its medical name comes from the Greek words herpes, `to creep", and zoster, `a girdle", which describes the belt-like ring the blisters sometimes form around the body. The virus is the same as chicken-pox and although it can lie dormant for years it may be re-activated by stress, illness or exposure to chicken-pox. The rash usually decreases or disappears within about fourteen days but because the roots of nerves are affected the pain may continue for many weeks or even months.
