Those who aren't sure if they had chicken pox as a child can have a blood test to see if they are protected against the virus. Once you've had chicken pox, you can't get it again. However, the virus that causes chicken pox stays in your body for the rest of your life. The shingles rash looks like chicken pox, but is usually shows up on only one part of your body and doesn't spread. Unlike chicken pox, shingles is painful.
Children sometimes get shingles, but it is more common among adults.
VZIG is a mixture on antibodies that our immune systems make to fight off chicken pox. VZIG is not a vaccine, so this protection does not last very long. Ever donor's blood is tested for exposure to the AIDA virus. Blood from people who have been exposed to the AIDS virus is thrown away. Just to be absolutely safe, the labs that make VZIG use a process that destroys all know human viruses - including the AIDS virus.