Yes you can get shingles on your ankle. Shingles is the same virus that causes chickenpox, varicella-zoster virus or VZV, derived from the latin word 'variola', which means smallpox. 'Zoster' is the Greek word for girdle; shingles often produce a belt or girdle of blisters around one side of the waist. Shingles is a very common disease, with over 25 per cent of adults likely to get shingles at some point in their lifetime, however, you cannot get shingles unless you have previously had chickenpox as a child. The disease most often occurs in adults over 50, although there are still cases of younger patients suffering from shingles. People who have weakened immune systems (i.e. People with cancer or HIV), have been ill, are suffering stress or recent trauma, or are over 50 are most at risk of shingles. Symptoms include an itchy, stabbing or shooting pain, tingling feeling in or under the skin, red on the affected area, and a high temperature, chills and a headache. A rash typically appears as a band across one side of the body, as a patch of raised dots that develop into red, fluid-filled painful blisters. The most common areas affected are the waistline, one side of the face, eye and forehead, although the disease can develop anywhere on the body. There is no cure for shingles, but there is medication to ease the pain and discomfort associated with the condition.
