Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a very painful skin infection caused by varicella-zoster virus. Shingles can infect any parts of the body, but it most often affects the left or the right side of the torso, which is sometimes thought as chest pain.
Symptoms of shingles include burning pain in the affected areas (usually more than one areas), itching, fever, headache and malaise. A few days after the start of the pain, skin rash appears.