Shingles vaccination

[Paul F.]

Yes to both... but still..

Edit: yes to both; "are you single? do you need a vacation?"
And stop that! (editing while I'm replying...)

[JEBB]

But having chicken pox IS a vaccination for that virus! I don't understand. I had an attack of shingles a few years ago and Valtrex worked for me.

[NewtonMP2100]

. . .as I understand it having chicken pox ISN'T a vaccination. . .the virus stays dormant after you have it and it reemerges. . .

[kap]

Paul F. wrote:
Swear to god, I thought the subject line said "Singles Vacation".
I either need glasses, or I just need some sleep...

If it's contagious, then it'd be "Singles Vacation"

[Grateful11]

I had a very light case of the Chicken Pox and someone told me I would
be at higher risk of getting shingles. Have no idea if that is true or not.

[dochocson]

Grateful11 wrote:
I had a very light case of the Chicken Pox and someone told me I would
be at higher risk of getting shingles. Have no idea if that is true or not.

There is speculation that having a "light" case of chicken pox as a child may increase the chances of getting shingles later in life. Fewer lesions may equate to lesser immune response which lets the virus wake up later on.

Trouble is, there is no clear definition of "light", and self-reporting of a childhood illness by an adult is not very reliable.

[Fred_Also]

There's a pharmacy in my area that has been running ads on the radio that you can stop in and get the vaccine. They target the ad for senior citizens. (North Texas area)

The problem is I can't remember if I had chicken pox when I was a kid. I think I did but there is no one left to ask. I'm 67.

I wonder what the case is if you take the vaccine and haven't had chicken pox.

Fred Also

[PeterB]

Good lord, if I were able to take that vaccine BEFORE age 60, I would. I have a brother that had shingles, and he was in agony...

[Doc]

Apparently, the vaccine is identical to the children's chickenpox vaccine (live virus) in a much larger dose. As a result, the vaccination is pretty expensive.

The reason why it's not recommended for people under 60 is that only 10% of all shingles cases occur in people under 60 so they never tested it on people under 60. (The test subjects were also almost exclusively white. Read into that what you will, but that actually does pose a risk to people of different ethnic backgrounds since vaccine-effectiveness varies among ethnic populations.)

It should also be mentioned that only about 50% of the people who get the vaccine get any relief from shingles and it can kill you if you're immune-compromised (due to cancer-treatments, AIDS, etc.) so there's risks.

Recipients of the vaccine were only followed for 4 years so we don't know whether even that 50% number is accurate over the long term and whether boosters will be necessary.

IMHO (I am NOT a medical doctor), it's worth a shot if you're otherwise healthy and suffer from shingles. Otherwise, 'might be worth waiting until there's further testing or until symptoms show up. It's no less effective after an outbreak.

[josntme]

Get the vaccination.

I had shingles and I can tell you that it was the worst pain I have ever had or could imagine. I didn't know about the vaccination or I probably would have done it.

Again, you don't want that pain.