It is a disease that feels even worse than it looks.
Shingles is most common in people older than 50, but anyone who has ever had chickenpox is at risk.
Twenty percent of the population will get shingles in their lifetime.
Carl Bozeman has shingles, a virus that causes blisters on the skin.
It is extremely painful and there is no cure, but new research is providing hope. "Most people who have had chicken pox are walking around, and they have virus in their body, and at some point in their lives it can actually reactivate," says Dr. Diannna Guan of the University of Colorado.
Researchers are first giving patients the mouth sore medication, Zovirax, by IV for two months.
Then, patients are given the herpes medication, Valtrex.
Carl is now drug free and wears whatever he wants, with no pain.