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Shingles (or Herpes Zoster) is a viral disease that travels along specific nerve lines, which is why the lesions frequently occur over isolated sections of the body. The most common site for such infection is usually directly under the rib cage, but facial lesions (over, and sometimes involving, the eye) are also prevalent. The bottom line for all to remember is that this is an *infectious* disease, and exposure to high viral loads (to those with open lesions) can bring about infections in those who ordinarily wouldn't have gotten sick. It is true that chicken pox virus (Herpes) remains in the body after infection throughout life, and stress can exacerbate immergence of the virus in the form of Shingles. The reason I am belaboring this point is because Herpes infections (specifically Chicken Pox and Shingles) can be *deadly* to those who are immune suppressed, specifically those on cancer chemotherapy (children with Leukemias are at particularly high risk) and AIDS. Discussions about Shingles being caused by stress (stress = immune suppression, which is true), often ignore the infectious nature of this disease. ------- Blessings Mary Ann