Is Shingles a real problem or are all the ads on teevee just hype?

[Warpy]

1. If you have had chicken pox, it's a real potential disaster

The herpes zoster virus likes to hide in nerve tissue, where the blood/brain barrier prevents efficient immune system disposal. It just waits for us to get older with somewhat weakened immune systems or a high stress level and up it pops, following the route of whatever spinal nerve it's been hiding in. That can be around the midsection, down arms or legs, or most worrisome, anywhere around the head or neck.

Intensely painful in any place it strikes, it can cause blindness if it migrates into the eyes and there are even fatal cases where inflammation has spread to the brain.

So yeah, it's a real problem. Unfortunately, the vaccine is quite expensive, so most people are taking their chances.