Shingles and Autoimmune Disorders: Understanding the Connection

Question
Hi im a 52 year old woman, with  osteoarthritis a lot caused by injuries ( i've had a spinal fusion and other surgeries# ive also been diagnosed w/ fibromyalgia... for some years ive had symptoms of an autoimmune disorder ..joint pain, hot joints, numbness in extremities and face  however they can also be symptoms of the ostio and injuries. my blood work  has shown.. at times.. inflammation? but not every time it's done  just last month i discovered the painful rash i've been getting on my backside and leg  for the past 20 yrs is shingles. (i was told it was a fungus 20yrs ago and never had anyone else look at it)  now my rheumatologist is concerned and ordered more blood work  ... my question is, have you ever heard of shingles and being a symptom of or related to an autoimmune disorder?  

Answer
I have heard this scenario many times.... I hate to tell you this, but that probably is a herpes simplex infection.  Shingles does not recur multiple times.  This can be verified by culturing the fluid from one of the blisters the next time it occurs.  Treatment is the same... take the antiviral medicine as soon as you feel it is coming on and you can block it or make it very mild.

Autoimmune disorders affect the immune system in different ways, so it can make recurrent viral infections more likely to recur, but not shingles.