Can you tell me what shingles are? I hear of many HIV men that get them , but do not know what they are. I have herpes on the top part of my left buttock,but not inside. I seem to get breakouts every two weeks. Sometimes I get huge.very painful boil like pimples on my lower back, legs and a few times on my upper back. I am hiv positive, not on treatment yet(will start next month) viral is 120,000 and tcell is 600. what is this that is going on? thanks for all you do

The condition that you describe doesn't sound like shingles (Herpes Zoster) which usually looks like blisters that occur in a band-like fashion (and generally don't recur). Folliculitis, furunculosis, and other skin conditions are more common in HIV+ patients. Recently, skin infections with antibiotic resistance Staph germs have been reported in HIV+ patients in clusters of patients (from skin contact most often). Your HIV doc generally would examine and culture the lesions and then treat according to his/her findings. KH