How Long Shingles Lasts And How Serious It Can Be
The rash usually appears a few days after the initial pain and tingling, and lasts for about a week. The older you are, the more likely you are to have long-lasting pain. Sometimes shingles develops in the eye and may also affect the eyelid.
This can cause severe pain and lead to decreased vision or even permanent blindness in that eye. Most people recover fully, but for some, the pain goes on for several months or even years this is called post-herpetic neuralgia .
This is a particularly unpleasant condition with severe burning, throbbing or stabbing nerve pain. The vaccine reduces the risk of getting shingles and PHN. Even if you still get shingles, the symptoms may be much reduced.
Know Your Shingles Risk
You can get shingles at any age if youve had chickenpox.
But older adults and those who are immunocompromised get it most often. Two-thirds of shingles cases in Canada happen to people over 50 years old. The severity of shingles and its complications also increase with age.
Age is the most important risk factor.
Who Is Eligible For The Vaccine
People aged 70 years of age are eligible for the vaccine.
The vaccine is also available for those previously eligible but who missed immunisation. For example, anyone in their 70s who has not yet had the vaccine.
You become eligible for the shingles vaccine as you turn 70 and remain eligible up to the age of 79.
People under 70 are at lower risk of shingles but will become eligible for the vaccine when they turn 70. People aged 80 years and over are not eligible for the shingles vaccination because the vaccine becomes less effective as people get older. If you are worried about shingles speak to your GP.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Shingles
The most common symptoms include pain and a tingling or burning sensation. In most patients a rash develops within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of pain. The rash can then turn to blisters that may leak fluid before crusting over.
The most common areas for the rash to develop are the scalp, neck, shoulders and chest wall. The shingles rash typically does not cross the midline of the body. While the majority of patients develop a rash, there are some patients who experience the pain and burning sensation but no rash develops.
If You Were Never Vaccinated For Chicken Pox And Have Never Had Chicken Pox Can I Get Shingles Should I Be Vaccinated For Chicken Pox And Shingles
If youve never had chicken pox, no. If you did not get chicken pox as a child, dont get either vaccinations, it is likely that you are immune to the disease. Its very rare to give an adult the vaccine for chicken pox. Adults do not do well with childhood vaccinations because they can end up with complications.
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What Is Shingles And How Can Shingrix Help Protect Against It
Shingles is an itchy and painful skin rash caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus . SHINGRIX works to boost your bodys protection against shingles. It is the only shingles vaccine proven to be greater than 90% effective in preventing shingles in adults 50 years and older in clinical trials.
Shingles Can Strike Twice Will The Shingles Vaccine Help
- By Urmila Parlikar, Associate Director, Digital Health Products, Harvard Health Publishing
No one who has experienced the burning, stabbing, painful misery of shingles wants to think about it again. But they should. Why? Because shingles can strike twice, or rarely, even a third time. A shingles vaccine can reduce the chances of a recurrence.
Theres some disagreement about how often recurrence occurs. In one study, researchers examined medical records of nearly 1,700 patients who had a documented case of shingles between 1996 and 2001. They found that more than 5% of these patients were treated for a second episode within an average of eight years. Thats about as likely as getting shingles in the first place if youre age 60 or older. Other studies have shown the recurrence rate to be much lower.
But the bottom line is the same: having shingles once doesnt protect you from ever having it again.
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What Are The Possible Reactions After The Vaccine
The shingles vaccines are very safe. Common reactions to the vaccines include headache as well as soreness, redness and swelling where the vaccine was given. Itching and a rash may also occur after getting Zostavax® II. Other reactions that may occur after getting Shingrix® include fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, shivering, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
It is important to stay in the clinic for 15 minutes after getting any vaccine because there is an extremely rare possibility, less than 1 in a million, of a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. This may include hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of the throat, tongue or lips. Should this reaction occur, your health care provider is prepared to treat it. Emergency treatment includes administration of epinephrine and transfer by ambulance to the nearest emergency department. If symptoms develop after you leave the clinic, call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
It is important to always report serious or unexpected reactions to your health care provider.
What The Research Says
What we do know is that when your immune system is compromised or distracted fighting off another virus, it tends to give the herpes zoster virus a chance to reactivate.
Past research has established that immune-suppressing medications like chemotherapy and corticosteroids as well as health conditions that attack your immune system like Crohns disease, HIV, and lupus increase your risk for a shingles outbreak.
Researchers are currently trying to understand whether COVID-19 may do the same thing.
Preliminary data suggests that this could be the case, but we do not know yet.
A small 2021 study involving 491 vaccinated people in Israel showed that six participants experienced shingles for the first time after getting their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. All six individuals had pre-existing conditions that lowered their natural immune response, and all six fully recovered after developing shingles.
This study prompted researchers to advocate for more studies on COVID-19 vaccines as possible triggers for the shingles virus.
Data gathered in Brazil also showed an increase of 10.7 cases of shingles per million inhabitants during the time of the pandemic.
Its impossible to know exactly how and to what extent the effect of increased stress of the pandemic and other factors played into these numbers increasing during that span of time. Stress has long been suspected to be a possible factor in developing shingles.
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Shingrix Dosage And Schedule
Shingrix should be administered to adults age 50 years and older as a two-dose series , 2 to 6 months apart .
If more than 6 months have elapsed since the first dose of Shingrix, you should administer the second dose as soon as possible. However, you do not need to restart the vaccine series.
If the second dose is given less than 4 weeks after the first dose, the second dose should be considered invalid. A valid second dose should be administered 2 months after the invalid dose .
Who Needs A Shingles Vaccine
Shingrix is recommended for adults aged 50 or older. You should still get the vaccine even if youve had shingles in the past, as it is possible to get it again.
You can also get Shingrix if you received Zostavax in the past. This is important because studies have shown that the efficacy of Zostavax over time.
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About Dr Alpana Goswami
Dr. Alpana Goswami received her medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India. She completed residencies at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She is board certified in internal medicine and has a special focus on diabetes, hypertension, hyperlidemia, heart disease, obesity and fitness. Dr. Goswami previously served as the chair of internal medicine at Suburban Hospital.
Can A Person With A Weakened Immune System Get The Shingles Vaccine
No, people with a weakened system can’t have the shingles vaccine. This includes people receiving certain medicines for rheumatoid arthritis or Crohns disease, or certain medicines for cancer, or people who are HIV-positive with a low CD4 count. Check with your doctor if you are unsure. If you need the shingles vaccine and need these treatments, it is best to have the vaccine at least 1 month before starting immunosuppressive treatment.
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Why More Adults Arent Getting The Super
Despite such impressive results, only about 35 percent of adults 60 and older reported receiving the shingles vaccine in 2018. Whats behind the hesitation? A couple of things. First, says Kristin Christensen, M.D., an internal medicine specialist affiliated with Penn Medicine, in Radnor, Pennsylvania, some of us dont take shingles as seriously as we should: People think, If its not going to kill me I dont need it, without realizing that singles can be incapacitating, causing severe pain that can really limit peoples functioning.
Whats more, difficulty in getting the vaccine may have discouraged those who sought out the vaccine earlier on. The company that makes the vaccine couldnt keep up with the initial demand, resulting in long waiting lists at pharmacies that dispensed the vaccines.
Then theres the hit to your wallet. Shingrix costs on average about $195 per injection, and two injections are required. But unlike the flu and pneumonia vaccines, which are fully covered as preventive services under Medicare Part B, the shingles shot falls under the prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D. Depending on your plan, even after youve met your annual deductible youll likely end up shelling out money for it. If youre between the ages of 50 and 65, and covered by a private health insurance, ask your doctor about getting your vaccine now, while youve got good coverage, Schaffner suggests.
Can Shingles Be Prevented With A Vaccine
In May 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine for adult shingles. The vaccine known as Zostavax is approved for use in adults ages 50 and over who have had chickenpox. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the vaccine for people 60 years of age and over who have had chickenpox. It is a onetime injection that does not need to be repeated. The shingles vaccine contains a booster dose of the chickenpox vaccine usually given to children. Tests over an initial four-year period showed that the vaccine significantly reduced the incidence of shingles in these older adults. The single-dose vaccine was shown to be more than 60% effective in reducing shinglessymptoms, and it reduced the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by at least two-thirds. Studies are ongoing to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine over a longer term. Even if you already have had shingles, you can still have the vaccine to help prevent future outbreaks.
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Who Should Not Get Shingrix
You should not get Shingrix if you:
- have ever had a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine or after a dose of Shingrix
- tested negative for immunity to varicella zoster virus. If you test negative, you should get chickenpox vaccine.
- currently have shingles
- currently are pregnant or breastfeeding. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should wait to get Shingrix.
If you have a minor acute illness, such as a cold, you may get Shingrix. But if you have a moderate or severe acute illness, you should usually wait until you recover before getting the vaccine. This includes anyone with a temperature of 101.3°F or higher.
The side effects of the Shingrix are temporary, and usually last 2 to 3 days. While you may experience pain for a few days after getting Shingrix, the pain will be less severe than having shingles and the complications from the disease.
Side Effects Of The Shingles Vaccine: Is It Safe
Shingles is a painful rash caused by varicella zoster, the same virus responsible for chickenpox.
If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus hasnt completely gone away. It hides dormant in your body and can reemerge many years later as shingles.
About 1 in 3 people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime. This is why vaccination is important. But you should also be prepared for possible side effects. In this article, well discuss the side effects, and talk about who should get the vaccine.
Older adults are most likely to develop shingles. This is why the shingles vaccine is recommended for people ages 50 and older.
Shingrix is the only shingles vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .
The Shingrix vaccine is a recombinant vaccine. This means vaccine manufacturers created it by altering and purifying DNA that creates an immune response to fight the virus.
The CDC recommends Shingrix for the prevention of shingles and related complications. The Shingrix vaccine is also recommended for anyone who has already gotten another type of shingles vaccine.
Currently, the CDC recommends healthy people ages 50 and older get the Shingrix vaccine. Doctors administer the vaccine in two doses, which are given 2 to 6 months apart.
The Shingrix vaccine has high success rates in protecting people against shingles.
The Shingrix vaccine is as much as effective in preventing shingles. The same is true for Shingrix and postherpetic neuralgia.
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What Vaccines Can Help Prevent Shingles
There is currently one vaccine available in the U.S. to prevent shingles. Shingrix was approved in 2017 and it is more than 90% effective in preventing shingles. With Shingrix, you get two shots between 2 and 6 months apart and protection lasts an estimated 4-5 years. Doctors recommend it for people over 50.
An earlier vaccine called Zostavax was removed from the market in 2020. That vaccine used a weak form of the chickenpox virus to send your bodyâs immune system into action to fight the disease. Shingrix does not. If you received the Zostavax vaccine, it is recommended that you also receive Shingrix.
What Should You Do If You Have Shingles
These simple steps can help you reduce the severity and spread of shingles:
- Cover the rash at all times
- Do not touch or scratch the rash
- Wash hands often to prevent the spread of the virus
- Before the rash develops crusts, avoid contact with:
- pregnant women who have never had chickenpox or been vaccinated against it
- premature or low birth-weight infants
- people with weakened immune systems including those receiving immunosuppressive medications or undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, and people with HIV.
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Can You Get Shingles After Being Vaccinated
Shingles is a viral infection. It presents with a rash followed by an episode of intense pain in the infected area. This is caused by the virus called varicella zoster. This virus also causes chickenpox. If a child has had chickenpox, the virus may not completely go away, lie dormant in the body and come back years later as shingles. Older individuals and immunocompromised individuals are more likely to develop shingles. The shingles vaccine is generally recommended for those older than 50 years of age and immunocompromised individuals .
The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines to effectively prevent shingles: Zostavax and Shingrix. Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia . Two doses of Shingrix are more than 90 percent effective at preventing shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. The vaccine is more than 85 percent effective for at least the first four years after vaccination. It is possible to get shingles after being vaccinated since no vaccine is 100 percent effective. However, the vaccine can considerably reduce the risk and intensity of shingles episodes.
The Biology Behind That Blistering Rash
During the initial exposure to chickenpox, some of the virus particles settle into the nerve cells around the spinal cord and brain. When the virus reactivates sometimes decades later, as a result of things like stress it travels down those nerve fibers to the skin. As the virus multiplies, the telltale rash erupts.
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How Does The Shingles Vaccine Work
Shingrix is a recombinant vaccine: It is made in the lab using a protein found in the outer shell of the varicella-zoster virus. The vaccine prompts the body to produce an immune response against the virus protein. This way, the immune system will recognize and fight the virus when it reactivates in the body, preventing shingles. It does not contain a weakened form of the virus, like many vaccines do.
The largest clinical trial of the vaccine, which was done in 18 countries, found that it was 97.2% effective at preventing shingles in adults aged 50 years and older. In a later trial, completed at the same locations, vaccine efficacy was 89.8% in people 70 years of age and older.
In addition to preventing shingles from developing, the vaccine offers other benefits. The small percentage of people who got shingles after receiving the vaccine in clinical trials reported less pain than did those who got the disease and were not vaccinated. Additionally, the vaccine prevented shingles-related complications in all but one person.
You might have heard about a different shingles vaccine called Zostavax that was approved in 2006. But it is no longer available as of November 2020. Fortunately, Shingrix has higher efficacy than Zostavax.