Why Does Shingles Usually Happen After Chickenpox?

Dear Ask The Doctor: I am a 15 year old girl and i have never had chicken pox, but i had shingles when i was ten, does this mean that i will still get chicken pox?

Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus: Varicella-zoster virus. In most individuals, especially those who haven’t had chickenpox vaccine, they can contract the virus and will manifest chickenpox. Eventually, the rashes will resolve but the virus will stay dormant in the dorsal root ganglia (a group of nerves in the spinal cord). When the individual becomes immunocompromised (depressed immune system), there will be a chance for the virus to be reactivated; this infection is now called shingles. To answer your question, it will be very unlikely for you to acquire chickenpox. The possibilities are you have been vaccinated with chickenpox and developed shingles (this also happens in rare circumstances; some will also develop chickenpox weeks, months or years after vaccination but the rashes are minimal and disappear faster, with a more benign course of the disease), or you were exposed to a person who had chickenpox, acquired the virus with a certain viral load enough to stay dormant in your nerves but not enough to cause rashes of chickenpox, then eventually the virus was reactivated and manifested as shingles. Since you have already had shingles, it is more likely you have already developed antibodies to the virus and it will be very unlikely for you to have chickenpox and/or shingles. If you want to be sure, you may ask your doctor to have a blood test to check for your chickenpox antibody concentration (Varicella titer). I hope this helps.