Shingles Causes

No one knows for sure what causes the chickenpox virus to become reactivated to cause shingles. Some investigators suggest that the following conditions may participate in virus reactivation, but this lists only some of the major conditions that may trigger reactivation:

• stress;



• fatigue;



• a weakened immune system (This may be age-related, disease-related, or a drug-related decrease in ability to keep the chickenpox virus in an inactive state.);



• cancer;



• radiation treatments;



• injury of the skin where the rash occurs;
and


• HIV/AIDS.