Over 60? Get Your Shingles Shot!

"You know that there is a shot for that now."

Those were the first words out of my doctor's mouth, even before he told me that the lesions on my head were, as I now know, "shingles".

I had never thought much about shingles and, when I did, thought they had been pretty much tamed. Turns out from the many stories of friends and acquaintances, that this virus is very much among us, 10-20% of us are likely to get it, and greatly misunderstood.

Shingles is the same virus that has remained dormant in our nervous system ever since we first had chicken pox. When it wakes up, it travels down the nerves to erupt on the skin. It shows up as feeling of high sensitivity and then what looks like a rash or hives on one side of the body. Mine hit the right hand side of my face. The pox outbreak lasts 7-10 days, and mine is nearly gone, but the pain and numbness can last for 3-5 weeks. Some cases may have longer term impacts, including possibly on the eye.

Shingles is not contagious. With direct contact, a person with shingles can pass the virus on to someone who has never had chicken pox, but you can only get shingles from yourself. It is treatable if diagnosed early. If one is suspicious, don't wait to get it checked out. Just don't.

Dr. Ellis tells me that in 2006 the AMA approved a new shot for shingles. (Web pages indicate that Merck developed it and market it as Zostavax.) According to Dr. Ellis, the AMA recommends that everyone over 60 get the shot. Early tests indicated it reduces the chance of getting shingles by 50%. If I can do any favor, it is to pass this advice on to my friends who may read this page. If you can reduce your chances of getting this by 50%, you want to do it.

IF YOU ARE OVER 60, GET YOUR SHINGLES SHOT!