[cstreit]

I don't think you "catch it" per se, rather it is from the Chicken Pox (Herpese Zoster?) virus that is latent in your system. You never really get rid of the chicken pox, it just goes dormant in your nerve fibers. Then in periods of reduced immunity (other disease, stress, etc..) it can come back. Usually happens in elderly folks but can come at a younger age occaisionally. Happened to me and it was THE MOST painful think I have ever experienced. Drugs didn't help, just lay on the couch for days trying not to move or think.