Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. I have had shingles too, so I know how painful they can be! You are not at risk of getting shingles from her. Shingles come from the chicken pox virus you had as a child which goes dormant in part of the nervous system called the dorsal root ganglion. Your antibodies keep it in check there. When our antibody levels specifically to them get low, or our immune system is weaker, then they can sometimes come out as shingles. Because it is a virus, it can t be killed with an antibiotic, but an antiviral, such as acyclovir or valacyclovir can lessen the symptoms and complications, particularly if it is started soon, within the first 72 hours. For prevention, there is a new shingles vaccine to help boost one s antibodies to the chickenpox/shingles virus (varicella zoster). The older vaccine was not extremely effective, and it s hoped that the newer one will do a better job, but as it is new, the data on it is mostly limited to experimental trials and early use. So in answer to your question, there is no way your friend can pass shingles on to you as you already have the virus, it is just not active. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh