Should You Get the Shingles Vaccination?
- Category: Health Education, Primary Care
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Shingles is a painful, often debilitating condition that affects nearly one in three people in their lifetime. If you're over 50 or have a weakened immune system, your chances of developing shingles increase. Fortunately, a vaccine is available to significantly reduce your risk. Here, we’ll explain what shingles is, its symptoms, risk factors, and why getting vaccinated is crucial for your health.
What is shingles?
Shingles is a viral infection marked by a painful rash, caused by the varicella-zoster virus—the same virus responsible for chickenpox. After recovering from chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in your body and reactivate years later, resulting in shingles.
Adults over 50 years old are susceptible to shingles, however, shingles can occur at any age. Adults with weakened immune systems, due to age, stress, or medical conditions, are likely to have the shingles virus reactivate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of all shingles cases occur in people 60 and older.
Shingles Symptoms
Recognizing the symptoms of shingles is crucial for early treatment. Symptoms can vary but shingles usually present as a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body. Prior to the rash appearing, people may experience pain, itching, burning or tingling.
Other symptoms that accompany the rash include:
Fever
Headache
Chills
Upset stomach
Flu-like symptoms
The rash should form a blister that begins healing within 7-10 days, and completely heal within 2-4 weeks. In some cases, shingles can lead to postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a condition where the pain from shingles lasts for months after the rash has cleared.
Prevention
If you have had chicken pox in the past, even as a child, you are at risk for shingles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults over the age of 50 get the shingles vaccine. The vaccine is also recommended for patients over the age of 19 with weak immune systems. The shingles vaccine lowers the risk of developing shingles and lowers the chances of shingles developing postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
Along with the vaccine, living a healthy lifestyle that supports a robust immune system can assist in the prevention of shingles. Managing stress levels, getting adequate sleep, eating a healthy diet, regularly exercising and maintaining a healthy weight contribute to a healthy immune system.
If you have questions about shingles or the shingles vaccine, our primary care providers can help. Visit Memorial’s Find-A-Doc page to browse our primary care providers and clinic locations. To schedule an appointment with a primary care provider, call 337-480-8900.
Resources:
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention – Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
National Institute on Aging - Shingles
American Academy of Family Physicians – Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
