Is shingles contagious?

Shingles rash starts as small blisters on a red base, with new blisters continuing to form for three to five days. So is shingles contagious? The answer is no. Although the varicella virus that causes chickenpox and shingles disease can spread through the direct contact of any healthy person with the open rashes of the patient suffering from shingles disease, Shingles is not a fully contagious disease. Finally, in 1958, detailed analyses of the viruses taken from patients with either chickenpox or shingles confirmed that the viruses were identical. The varicella-zoster virus is highly contagious. The patient should then be very careful to swathe and cover up these blisters to stop the disease from spreading.