Shingles Vacine
If you’ve ever had chickenpox, you could develop shingles as you get older. Most people probably don’t know this, but you actually never get rid of the chickenpox virus if you catch it. Medicine simply causes the symptoms to regress and the virus to become dormant. But as a person’s immune system gets weaker with age, the virus can reassert itself. A person who lives past the age of 85 actually has a one in two chance of developing shingles without getting a vaccine. In October 2006, the Center for Disease Control advisory panel decided in favor of making the shingles vacine a routine part of preventative health for people over 60. A vaccine is a dead or weakened form of a virus often administered to a patient to strengthen the immune system’s defenses. When the vaccine is injected into a person, the immune system reacts the same way as it would if the virus were alive and strong. It determines the best way to expel the agent and does it. Then when a real virus comes along, the body remembers the previous “attack” and responds very quickly to overpower the virus. A vacine is important because shingles, though not fatal, can be debilitating. It can turn into a more serious condition such as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or ophthalmic zoster. Ophthalmic zoster can lead to blindness. PHN comes with sudden, agonizing pain. In fact, the pain is so all-consuming that more people commit suicide from this disease than from cancer pain. A vaccine can stop a quarter of a million people from getting shingles at all and significantly reduce the symptoms of an additional quarter of a million people. Zostavax is one vaccine approved in May of ’06. The side effects are mild, and may include soreness, itching, and redness. If you have Medicare Part D, the cost of Zostavax is taken care of. Otherwise, you may have to pay for it, though you can appeal to your individual healthcare coverage provider. The cost for those without insurance (or insurance that won’t cover it) is around $300. A vaccine isn’t for everyone. It’s not for people who are pregnant or nursing, or people whose immune systems are already compromised. The vacine is also usually not given to someone under the age of 65, as the effectiveness of the drug for those under 65 is unknown. Check with your doctor if you experience unusual side effects such as trouble breathing, allergic reaction, or fever. Dizziness, wheezing, and rapid heartbeat have also been reported by a few people. Despite these risks, the rewards are too important to pass up. If you’re concerned about the possibility of developing shingles, it’s time to see your physicians and ask about obtaining a shingles vaccine.
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