Shingles Vaccination
 

I just wanted to share or inform anyone that is not aware of a shingles vaccination.

My doctor gave me a shot when I turned 65 and I believe he said this is a needed vaccination in addition to the pnuemonia vaccination.

My uncle who will be 98 shortly has developed this condition and it is extremely painful. He can't use his left arm or hand. His daughter has to dress him.

My uncle is a WW2 veteran and is the type of person who can tolerate a lot of pain. When my cousin tells me he is complaining, I know he is in a lot of pain.

Hope this helps someone.

I will be getting a shingles vaccination soon. My father had shingles and I remember the pain he experienced. My brother-in-law is finally recovering from a case but still in much pain as the pain can continue for months. He was very sorry he didn't get the vaccine. He is going to get it as soon as the Dr clears him to get it. Now I think it is a good idea.

We all three need to be vaccinated against shingles. It is really a pricey immunization.

I came down with the shingles last June and still have the discomfort across my stomach and 1/2 of my back. It's not as intense as it was in during the 1st few months but it's still there. I would highly recommend the vaccination. I can't get it until I am completely symptom free and who knows when that will be.
Skip 2

In Minnesota the vaccine is $222. Fortunately, my inurance pays for it. There is also about a two month wait due to shortage of the vaccine.

Been there, had that a number of years ago. Having shingles is NOT any fun! Haven't had the vaccination - am not quite to the recommended age yet.

Just hoping it doesn't recur!!

Bill

Bill:

I believe you have to be 65 or older. I would also get the pnuemonia shot also.The doctor told me that it won't stop you from getting pnuemonia but it will keep you from dying because of it. A lovely way to explain a thought.

Best regards for your future health.

DaleMN:

I remember one year when my doctor didn't have the flu vaccine, he recommended I go to a Health Clinic to get the shot. This was before pharmarcies started giving flu vaccinations.

I mentioned this to my cousin as she said singles could be contagious if one came in direct contact with it. I don't know if that is true as I am not a doctor.

I hope this is an option for you.

Here's what I know about shingles being contagious. Shingles itself is not contagious. However, if a person never had chicken pox or the vaccine for chicken pox, if they have direct contact (skin to skin) they will get chicken pox, not shingles. If a person has had chicken pox or the vaccine, they will not get anything. I researched it on the internet for my sister when her husband was so bad.

I have not done research
 

but, I have children who had chicken pox and have had shingles at 40:(

We are talking about if shingles itself is contagious from another person. Any person who has had chicken pox can develop shingles - it comes from within our own body. From what I have read, the chicken pox virus lies dormant in the body once you have had chicken pox and will come out in the form of shingles in adults and could be the result of being rundown, low resistance, extreme stress etc. For example, my brother -in-law had chicken pox as a child and developed shingles in his adult life. Now if my sister had direct skin contact with his rash, she could have developed chicken pox (not shingles) if she didn't already have chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine. She was in no danger of getting chicken pox because she had already had it. And shingles itself is not contagious. I know it sounds confusing, but chicken pox is what it transmitted to another person from direct contact with the shingles rash. My sister did verify this with their doctor after I told her what I had found out.

It will keep you from getting one form of pneumonia. There is bacterial and several forms of viral pneumonia.

Per CDC guidelines, you can get the shingles vaccination at age 60. As soon as I hit 60 (later this year), I will get it. Luckily, my health insurance covers in full.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/...tm#get-vaccine

Medicare Part D covers (most of) the costs for the vaccination. Info at above link. You can also find links for info on all recommended adult immunizations.

shots...
 

I've had the pneumonia shot...was told it's a 1X event...and as others said will keep you from one kind.

As for the shingles shot...wanted to get it a couple of years ago but was told it was very expensive. Then we came down here and was told the same thing. Some insurances may pay for it but mine apparently does not. I'd hate to get the illness as the people I know who've had it say it's nasty. You'd think that insurance companies and BIG drug companies would want to get together and let people have this shot.

I hear what you're saying about the expense. But another way to look at it is, how much will it cost you if you get shingles? How much in doctor's visits and medication? It may be a choice of pay now or pay later. And, who needs or wants the pain and suffering? It may be wiser to save up the money for the vaccination than chance getting the virus.

Shingles is also known as herpes zoster. It is the reactivation of the chickenpox (varicella) virus. The trunk of the body is most often affected, but it can happen on the face also. My sister had it on the upper left quarter of her face - very dangerous because the eye was involved. The inflammation showed up with very distinct borders and she literally had a line down the center of her forhead, center of the nose and across the cheek. The inflammation follows along nerve roots. I had an internal version - extreme pain from my ear down the side of my neck, but I didn't have any skin eruptions. I was allergic to the first antiviral they gave me which caused an additional problem. It's so painful - I wouldn't wish it on anyone!

I to had chicken pox as a child and developed shingles as an adult.

I got the shingles shot at Kaiser in Norcal (Santa Rosa) when we went in for a flu shot last fall. We were previously told by Kaiser that the wait was about six months to get a shingles shot but when we asked about it in the flu line then sent us to the shingles line and we got the shot - my wife was 59 at the time (I was 66). We were told by the shingles tech that they just got a batch of it in and were giving it out to all that asked for it. (no additional cost at Kaiser)


.

Hi Marybb,
That makes sense because the only way you can get shingles as an adult is if you had chickenpox as a kid.

However, what mfp509 said is correct.

• A person cannot get shingles from another person with shingles.
• A person who has never had chickenpox can get chickenpox from exposure to a person with shingles.

When the shingles vacine first came out, it was not recommended for people who had already had shingles because it was not yet known whether it would be effective. Does anyone know if that's still the case?

Apparently, I'm not old enough to get the vacine, but would get it in a heartbeat when I qualify if it works for people who've had shingles in the past.

I don't think that is still the case. My brother-in-law was told by the Dr that he can get the vaccination as soon as his symptoms are gone. So it must prevent further breakouts. Actually, I do believe you can have shingles more than once because that virus continues to lie dormant in your body.

Mfp509,
Thanks. Unfortunately, I know you can have shingles more than once. :grumpy: I'm so hoping you are right and the vacine is effective for people who have had shingles before.

Today's FDA Update on Vaccine
 

Just received notice from the FDA that the shingles vaccine has now been approved to be administered to those 50 years of age and older. You can read about it here:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsro.../ucm248390.htm

I'll be contacting my county health department today to schedule an appointment for next week, before the supply is exhausted. (Where I live, the doctors don't give the vaccination since temperature controls for the vaccine are so strict. Only the county health department gives the shot.)

:BigApplause:

Thanks for that update!

Bill

Got mine at the VA a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you for correcting me. I thought this vaccine was given to people 65 and over.

The shingles vaccine is a good thing. Just keep in mind that it is a live vaccine and therefore it is possible for you to get shingles from the vaccine.

No mention of getting shingles from the vaccine in this article. What's your source for that statement?



http://www.webmd.com/vaccines/featur...ine-for-adults

Shingles Vaccine
 

According to literature of The Center for Disease Control and Prevention-"No serious problems have been identified with the Shingles Vaccine." Does someone have valid info to the contrary?

I also had chicken pox as a child and then got shingles a few years ago on my face and they were worried it could get into my eyes. Fortunately that did not happen and the scars from the shingles have faded and I have no residual pain. HOWEVER,my doctor told me that shingles was caused by the dormant chicken pox "cells." I understood that you had to have had chicken pox to have shingles. I could be wrong...maybe I heard the doc wrong, but I think I am remembering this correctly.

Medicare covers it but you may have to get the vaccine from the drug store and take it to your doctor and pay for an office visit. Otherwise it is close to $300.

There are no residual effects but it is extremely painful when you have it.

That the same as what my doctor told me when I got shingles a number of years ago.

Bill :)

I've had shingles twice. No problem. Both times I realized immediately what it was, and raced to the doctor. If you get treatment within 24 hours, you're usually home free. So if you get an unexplained itchy rash, check it out immediately with your doctor!! I know people that have ignored their symptoms and they have suffered with pain for years.

I do plan on having the shingles shot, but in Canada the supply is limited. Since the serum has to be refrigeratered under special conditions, not all clinics offer it.

I am going on what my MD told me on several occasions. That from a live vaccine you can get the thing you are being vaccinated for but at a reduced severity. I sent and email to the Cleveland Clinic and Center for disease control for clarification. I will let you know what they respond.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify this for us. I've certainly heard of people getting "minor" flu from a flu shot. So it makes sense what you're saying. Could you also ask them whether you can have a shingles shot if you've already had shingles twice? My family doctor says you can, but she's not an expert in that field.

County Health Dept in Wildwood lists the shot as being about $175.

I got this response so far.

No, shingles is not spread from the vaccine. Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays in the body in a dormant (inactive) state. For reasons that are not fully known, the virus can reactivate years later, causing shingles.


Duane Kilgus, MPH, RS
Captain, US Public Health Service
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases
 

This has a slightly different take on live vaccines. Who do you listen to?:shrug:

About NIAIDNews & EventsNIAID > Topics > Vaccines > Understanding Skip Website Tools Website Tools

Find more ways to stay connected to NIAID See Also
•Vaccine Research Center
•Videocast: HHS Science Seminar for Media—Advances in Influenza Vaccine Technologies
Related Links
View a list of links for more information about vaccines.
VaccinesTypes of Vaccines
Scientists take many approaches to designing vaccines against a microbe. These choices are typically based on fundamental information about the microbe, such as how it infects cells and how the immune system responds to it, as well as practical considerations, such as regions of the world where the vaccine would be used. The following are some of the options that researchers might pursue:

•Live, attenuated vaccines
•Inactivated vaccines
•Subunit vaccines
•Toxoid vaccines
•Conjugate vaccines
•DNA vaccines
•Recombinant vector vaccines
Live, Attenuated Vaccines
Live, attenuated vaccines contain a version of the living microbe that has been weakened in the lab so it can’t cause disease. Because a live, attenuated vaccine is the closest thing to a natural infection, these vaccines are good “teachers” of the immune system: They elicit strong cellular and antibody responses and often confer lifelong immunity with only one or two doses.

Despite the advantages of live, attenuated vaccines, there are some downsides. It is the nature of living things to change, or mutate, and the organisms used in live, attenuated vaccines are no different. The remote possibility exists that an attenuated microbe in the vaccine could revert to a virulent form and cause disease. Also, not everyone can safely receive live, attenuated vaccines. For their own protection, people who have damaged or weakened immune systems— because they’ve undergone chemotherapy or have HIV, for example—cannot be given live vaccines.

Shingles
 

I have had the shingles twice and the first time I was under 60 and I couldn't get the shot and then was foolish and put off getting it and after getting it a second time when the doctor gave me the okay I got the shot. My husband who never had them also received the shot after seeing what I went thru. We heard that there was a 6 month wait and then found out theatRite Aid was having a clinic and called and we were the last two to get on the list. They only receive a limited number of the vacine so we were very lucky as they didn't know when they would be having another clinic. Our insurace paid for the administration of the shot ($50.00) and we each paid $200.00 but well worth it between what you would spend on medication and the discomfort.

I would advise anyone over 60 to get the shingles vaccine. I had shingles in July. I made it to to my doctor the third day and was given an antibiotic which helped to some degree. My shingles lasted 3 weeks. Afterwards, I was given the shingles vaccine to prevent another outbreak in the future. You can get shingles more than once, but if you have taken the vaccine, it will help to lessen the severity of another outbreak. Yes, they are very painful.