Alice Lipowicz contracted shingles in 2016.
One in 3 people gets shingles. Not everyone writes a musical about it.
Alice Lipowicz did. When the journalist contracted shingles in 2016, it entered her eye - and during the months she spent recovering in a darkened room, she began to compose songs about her experience. Now her musical, "My Beautiful Darkened World: A Musical Journey From Illness to Inspiration (or How I Lost 15 Pounds on the Shingles Diet)," is on deck at the Highwood Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. It's a cabaret-style show designed to raise awareness of shingles - and get a few laughs in the process.
But shingles itself is no laughing matter. It is caused when the varicella zoster virus - the same virus that causes chickenpox - stays dormant in the body and reactivates years later. For 10 to 20 percent of people with shingles, the rash invades the eye. The complication, ophthalmic herpes zoster, can cause pain, swelling, scarring and even vision loss.
Lipowicz, who is still recovering from her ordeal, sings along with a jazz pianist and other performers in a show intended to entertain and inspire audiences. She also hopes to raise money for shingles awareness efforts and to remind people that quick treatment - and vaccinations - are available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone 60 and older - the age group that develops about half of all cases - get the vaccine.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)