In a message dated 11/12/2002 4:31:05 PM Mountain Standard Time, NJ-MEMORIES-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > I had them all, the only > one that carried over was the chicken pox. I was told its in your system > and I got the Shinges 3 yrs. ago. True Doris? > Yup. What happens is that the chicken-pox virus (the "varicella/zoster virus") doesn't necessarily go away after you've had the chicken pox. Instead, it hides out in cranial- or spinal-nerve cells and just waits for you to have some sort of stress in your life that triggers them to come out. They travel right down the nerve roots to the endings on the skin, and there they set up that painful eruption that we know of as "shingles." The name has nothing to do with the stuff on your roof; it comes from the Latin word "cingulum," which means "girdle." That's because the most common site is around the waist, where a girdle would be worn in the olden days. The infection can follow any of the sensory nerves, though, which is why it can even pop out on the face or in an eye. Incidentally, those blisters on the skin with shingles are chock full of chicken-pox virus; so if you should get it, stay away from anyone who hasn't had chicken pox. Hope this helps -- Doris in Colorado (Up2Nutrix@aol.com) "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -- Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr