MY OPINION - SHINGLES IS CONTAGIOUS, and can 'get you' if you are in a stressed, or emotionally exhausted condition, regardless of age.

FWIW - When I was about 12, my Aunt who was 56 developed shingles after her husband died of an unexpected heart attack. We visited her of course and kept her company during this trying time, but a few weeks later I got my own shingles outbreak. It manifested on the left 1/2 of my back from the spine to my side, from the middle of my back, up to my shoulder and down the back of my left arm to the elbow. It was thick with blisters and so itchy and painful. I had to take oatmeal baths and wear a sling on my arm. Why did I get it? Well, I have an idea.

Caveat: Our particular family was undergoing some extreme emotional distress with financial difficulties, one family member was really sick with asthma, my older brother was going through a terrible divorce and came back to live at home, Aunt's husband's death, etc. Being the youngest and most obedient, I was the 'whipping girl' for all of my mother's frustrations. No good deed went unpunished. So, my distressed state clearly left me vulnerable and when exposed to my Aunt's shingles outbreak, it got me.

Further interesting point: 20 years later when I gave birth to my first child, he had a café-au-lait hyperpigmentation birthmark in the exact place on his back, shoulder and left arm to the elbow. Talk about transferring injury or trauma through the DNA!

How to explain this?

MY OPINION - SHINGLES IS CONTAGIOUS, and can 'get you' if you are in a stressed, or emotionally exhausted condition, regardless of age.

FWIW - When I was about 12, my Aunt who was 56 developed shingles after her husband died of an unexpected heart attack. We visited her of course and kept her company during this trying time, but a few weeks later I got my own shingles outbreak. It manifested on the left 1/2 of my back from the spine to my side, from the middle of my back, up to my shoulder and down the back of my left arm to the elbow. It was thick with blisters and so itchy and painful. I had to take oatmeal baths and wear a sling on my arm. Why did I get it? Well, I have an idea.

Caveat: Our particular family was undergoing some extreme emotional distress with financial difficulties, one family member was really sick with asthma, my older brother was going through a terrible divorce and came back to live at home, Aunt's husband's death, etc. Being the youngest and most obedient, I was the 'whipping girl' for all of my mother's frustrations. No good deed went unpunished. So, my distressed state clearly left me vulnerable and when exposed to my Aunt's shingles outbreak, it got me.

Further interesting point: 20 years later when I gave birth to my first child, he had a café-au-lait hyperpigmentation birthmark in the exact place on his back, shoulder and left arm to the elbow. Talk about transferring alterations through the DNA!

How to explain this?