Did you know that if you had chicken pox as a child, the infection can stage a painful reappearance later in life in the form of herpes zoster -- better known as shingles?
Your risk of shingles increases with age: As you get older, the virus can reactivate and migrate along the path of a nerve to the surface of the skin. This can cause severe burning or shooting pain, tingling and itching that's typically concentrated on one side of your body, usually on your chest or back, but sometimes on your face. Within a day or two, a rash of blisters may form in a band or strip pattern on your skin and persist for up to 14 days.
The immune system link. Shingles is thought to be caused by a weakened immune system owing to aging or illnesses such as chronic lung or kidney disease and cancer. People with autoimmune diseases are at increased risk as well: Several studies suggest that immune-suppressing drugs used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel syndrome may increase susceptibility to shingles.
An effective but underused vaccine. Despite shingles' harsh symptoms and the increasing risk with age, few older adults opt for getting the herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax), which may prevent shingles and has been available since 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults ages 60 and up get the shingles vaccine. Yet in 2010, only 14.4 percent of such Americans followed that advice, according to the CDC, even though up to a million cases of shingles are reported each year in the United States.
Zostavax, which contains a live strain of the varicella zoster virus, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for adults ages 50 and older. Administered as a single shot, the shingles vaccine is safe and well tolerated. It's covered by Medicare Part D and most insurance plans.
In people ages 60 and older, the vaccine's success rate was 51 percent for preventing shingles and 67 percent for preventing postherpetic neuralgia. Another study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, showed that the younger the patient, the more effective the shingles vaccine; it was nearly 70 percent effective for adults ages 50 to 59. (The vaccine hasn't been tested in people under 50.)
If you get shingles. Shingles treatment typically consists of an antiviral drug such as acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir) or valacyclovir (Valtrex), but only about half of patients receive relief from them. The drugs are most effective when they're started within 72 hours after the shingles rash develops. Your doctor may also prescribe a pain reliever.
Shingles generally clears up with no treatment in two to four weeks. If you're one of the unlucky people who gets shingles even after having the vaccine, you still benefit: Cases of shingles in vaccinated adults are less severe and last for a shorter time than in adults not vaccinated.
Article Source: John Hopkins Medicine
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