Shingles

Shingles, also known as zoster, herpes zoster, or zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters involving a limited area. Typically the rash occurs on either the left or right of the body or face in a single stripe. Two to four days before the rash occurs there may be pain or tingling in the area. Otherwise there are typically few symptoms. The rash usually heals within two to four weeks; however, some people develop ongoing nerve pain which may last for months or years, a condition called postherpetic neuralgia. In those with poor immune function the rash may occur widely. If the rash involves the eye, vision loss may occur.

Shingles is due to a reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) within a person's body. Chickenpox is due to an initial infection with VZV. Once chickenpox has resolved, the virus may remain inactive in nerve cells. Risk factors for reactivation include older age, poor immune function, and having had chickenpox before 18 months of age. How the virus remains in the body or subsequently re-activates, is not well understood. Exposure to the virus in the blisters can cause chickenpox in someone who has not had it before but will not trigger shingles. Diagnosis is typically based on a person's signs and symptoms. Varicella zoster virus is not the same as herpes simplex virus; however, they belong to the same family of viruses.

Zoster (costume)

A zoster (Greek: ζωστήρ) was a form of girdle or belt worn by men and perhaps later by women in Ancient Greece, from the Archaic period (c. 750–c. 500 BC) to the Hellenistic period (323–30 BC).

The word occurs in Homer, where it appears to refer to a warrior's belt of leather, possibly covered in bronze plates. Later references in the late Archaic and early Classical periods show it used as a belt or cloth girdle with men's clothes, especially the shorter chiton.

By the Hellenistic period, it had become synonymous with "zone" and was used for women's clothes as well as men's.

The zoster was also worn and is still worn by Greeks when wearing traditional costumes (regional clothing).

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