HIV fears
I'm 21 years old, active and healthy, but I am just getting over a case of shingles. I hear this is rare in younger people but linked to HIV, so I'm now worried that this might have caused the shingles. I haven't been stressed or felt ill recently, although I did have a tattoo about three weeks ago. Is it likely to be HIV?
Try not to worry. Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can go on to have shingles, as this is due to a reactivation of the chickenpox virus that lies dormant in certain nerve roots. Shingles can occur when you are under stress, run down, have lowered immunity (for example, due to another infection, such as the 'flu) or just come out of the blue. The stress of having a tattoo may even have triggered it! Very few cases of shingles are linked to HIV, so try not to worry unduly. If a test for HIV will help put your mind at rest, then by all means have one - you can request one in confidence from your local GUM clinic.
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