A Very Important Vaccination
By Michael McLendon, Pharmacist, Meridian Pharmacy, Texoma LIVING WELL Magazine
If you are over 50, here’s something to add to your bucket list. Move this one to the top of your list now. Get your shingles vaccination ASAP! (Check with your physician to determine if you are eligible).
Ninety-eight percent of adults in the U.S. have been infected with the chickenpox virus and are at risk for shingles. Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus can live, but remain inactive, in certain nerve roots within your body for many years. If it becomes active again, usually later in life, it can cause shingles.
The risk for shingles increases as you get older. Shingles can affect anyone who has had chickenpox at any time, without warning. There’s no way to tell who will get shingles or when it may occur. No matter how healthy you are or feel, your chances of getting shingles increases as you get older
The first signs of shingles are often felt and may not be seen. These can include itching, tingling, and burning. A few days later, a rash of fluid-filled blisters appears (usually on one side of the face or body). These may take two to four weeks to heal.
After the rash heals, Shingles may lead to pain that lasts for months or even years in some people. This long-term nerve pain, called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), occurs because the virus that causes shingles may damage certain nerves. The pain can vary: burning and throbbing, stabbing or shooting. One in five people who get shingles will experience long-term nerve pain.
Other serious problems that may result from shingles include skin infection, muscle weakness, scarring, and decrease or loss of vision or hearing.
The older you get, the more you are at risk for shingles. About half of the nearly one million shingles cases in the U.S. each year occur in people 60 years and older.
I’ve had shingles twice. I was 54 when my first case occurred. It was about one month after a surgical procedure. Stressful situations play a big role in triggering shingles. I describe my first case of shingles as having placed my finger in a fire ant mound and holding it there for two months.
Even if you have had the shingles, the vaccine is still recommended. It may help lessen the severity of shingles.
As for my bucket list––my shingles vaccination (Zostavax) has been checked off.
Ask your physician about this vaccine. Zostavax is available at Meridian Pharmacy.
