Shingles is more
common after the age of 50 and the risk increases with
advancing age. Shingles causes numbness, itching or severe
pain followed by clusters of blister-like lesions in a
strip-like pattern on one side of your body. The pain can
persist for weeks, months or years after the rash heals and is
then known as post-herpetic neuralgia.
- Is shingles contagious?
Yes, people with shingles are contagious to persons who have not had
chickenpox. Therefore, people who have not had chickenpox can catch chickenpox
if they have close contact with a person who has shingles. However, you can not
catch shingles itself from someone else. Shingles is caused by the chickenpox
virus which has been dormant (staying quiet) in your body ever since you had
chickenpox. So, you get shingles from your own chickenpox virus, not from
someone else.
- What should I do if I get shingles?
Contact your health care provider as soon as possible to discuss treatment
with antiviral medications. These medications are most effective if given as
soon as possible after rash onset.
- Can someone who has been vaccinated for chickenpox develop shingles?
Yes. However, a study conducted among children with leukemia determined that
after receiving the vaccine these children were much less likely to develop
shingles than children who had prior natural chickenpox. Available information
from healthy children and adults suggest that shingles is less common in
vaccinated healthy persons compared with persons who have had natural
chickenpox.
- Is there a vaccine available to prevent or modify shingles?
No; however, a study is currently underway with a new formulation of the
chickenpox vaccine to determine whether vaccination of persons older than 55
years of age will reduce the frequency and/or severity of shingles in adults.
Results from this study will be available in about 5 years.
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