Shingles rarely kills, and that is not what people fear about it

**About 1 in 3 people in the United States will develop shingles in their
life.** It is one of the more common things that will happen to you.

Fewer than 100 people die from shingles each year, and **almost all
shingles deaths are in older adults or people with compromised immune
systems.** As causes of death go, in a country of 340 million, it barely
registers.

The reason shingles has the reputation it does is not mortality.

Postherpetic neuralgia

**The most common complication of shingles is severe pain in the area where
the shingles rash occurred. This is known as postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN.
Approximately 10% to 18% of people with herpes zoster will get PHN.**

Between one and two in ten. The rash heals; the pain stays. **The risk of PHN
also increases with age** — the same direction as the risk of getting shingles
at all, so the people most likely to get it are also the most likely to be left
with the lasting pain.

Hospital

**Approximately 1% to 4% of people with shingles go to hospital for
complications**, and **older adults and people with weakened or suppressed
immune systems are more likely to need to.**

One figure gives the shape of that group: **about 30% of people in hospital
for shingles have a weakened or suppressed immune system** — a small fraction
of the population accounting for nearly a third of the admissions.

Two things people get wrong

**Most people who have shingles only have it one time. However, you can have
shingles more than once.** Having had it is not a guarantee.

Children can have shingles, but it is not common.

The trend

**Herpes zoster rates among adults in the United States gradually increased
over a long period.** The honest sentence follows immediately: **we do not know
the reason for this increase.** Rates across age groups **have recently
plateaued or declined.**

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.