Colm O'Regan: I have shingles. It feels like a disease from another era

Like a swanky new dishwasher tablet, it works on two levels

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Shingles: The name lulls you into underestimating it. It rhymes with nice things like mingles and jingles and tingles. Its singular is just “a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles”. But shingles is no walk by the shore, you’re advised not to mingle, the only tingle is the possible early sign it’s on the way and the jingle is the bell you toll to warn people away.

It’s a wonder shingles hasn’t been banned or that we haven’t had a referendum against it. It feels like a disease from another era. A curse. If you got chickenpox earlier in your life, the virus lurks somewhere in your cells. The varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, then suddenly comes to life when you’re run down, or for the laugh, and it becomes shingles.