Nearly 1 million Americans receive medical care for shingles or its complications, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Shingles comes from an infection with varicella-zoster virus - the same virus that cases chicken pox - and can result in burning or shooting pain, tingling or itching. However, unlike chicken pox, shingles is not contagious.

AHRQ’s survey found that:

- Americans make 2.1 million doctor visits a year because of shingles or its complications.

- The average cost for treating shingles is $525 per person or $566 million each year (in 2005 dollars), including prescription medicines.

- People age 65 and older are seven times more likely to get shingles than the non-elderly - (1.5 percent compared with 0.2 percent, respectively).