Shingles are NOT contagious in the way Chicken Pox are. I've got a rare case of recurrent shingles and nobody has EVER caught them off me. What happens with shingles is the chicken pox virus, after you get it, lays dormant in your spinal fluid pretty much forever. In cases of extreme stress or illness on the body, the virus comes out of hiding and you get the rash/pain/itching/blisters that is shingles.