Shingles is serious health threat
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News from the Western Montana Area VI Agency on Aging, Inc.
LAKE COUNTY — There are an estimated 1 million cases of shingles every year in the United States. The risk increases as you get older. About half of all cases occur in men and women age 60 or older. People who have medical conditions affecting their immune systems, such as leukemia, lymphoma or HIV, and those who receive immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids or drugs to prevent rejection after a transplant, are more likely to get shingles.
Complications from shingles can be severe and long lasting. Post-herpetic neuralgia can cause debilitating pain in the areas where the shingles rash was. This pain usually resolves in a few weeks but for some people lasts for months or years. In older people, PHN is more likely to develop and to be severe. Shingles can also lead to serious complications involving the eye, and more rarely can also lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation or death.
Anyone who has had chicken pox during their lifetime can develop shingles. The virus is dormant in the system and, for reasons not fully known, can reactivate. Though it is typical to only develop shingles once, it is possible to have a second or even third episode. Shingles is not spread from one person to another, however someone exposed to an individual with shingles can develop chicken pox. Those who have shingles are asked to keep the rash covered, wash their hands often, and avoid contact with children or pregnant women who have not had chicken pox, and anyone with a weakened immune system.
The CDC recommends that people over age 60 get vaccinated. At this time it is thought that one dose of the vaccine is sufficient in a lifetime. The shingles vaccine is available at pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and the county health department. Medicare Part D plans cover the shot, with deductibles and co-pays still applying. Other insurances also may cover the shingles shot. Insurance plans or vaccination providers may require a doctor’s prescription, especially for those under 60.
Several antiviral medicines are available to help lessen the length and severity of the illness, but to be effective they must be started as soon as the rash appears.
