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Health
Are You at Risk for Shingles?
 Childhood disease can hit adults and when they do, they often strike with a vengeance. Barbara Walters learned that this year when doctors discovered that she has chicken pox. “She'd never had it as a child. So now she's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors — and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching!," said her The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg. After having chicken pox, 83-year-old Walters in now a risk of contracting shingles.
If you have ever had chicken pox, then you are at risk for developing shingles. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. Following recovery from chicken pox, the virus becomes dormant in the body. When shingles develop, a rash or blisters appear on the skin, generally on one side of the body. This is a sign that the virus that was asleep in the nerve cells has reactivated and travelled from the nerve out to the skin. Shingles (also known as herpes zoster) can occur in people of all ages and the risk increases as you get older.
Because the nerves along the path become inflamed, shingles can also be painful. Pain that lasts for months after the rash has healed is called post herpetic neuralgia or PHN. For some people, this pain can be severe and chronic.
Zostavax is the Food Drug Administration (FDA) licensed vaccine that helps to reduce the risk of getting shingles in individuals 50 years of age and older. Zostavax is the only US licensed vaccine that reduces the risk of reactivation of VZV. Zostavax is given as a single dose by an injection under the skin, preferably in the upper arm.
In the clinical trials involving Zostavax, people 50-59 years of age had a 70% reduction in the occurrence of shingles. For people 60-69, there was a 64% reduction in the occurrence of shingles while in people 70-79 there was a 41% reduction in risk. For those 80 years and older, there was only an 18% reduction. Study participants were followed on an average of three years after receiving Zostavax.
In people 70 years of age and older who still developed shingles, though they had been vaccinated, Zostavax reduced the frequency of PHN. Zostavax does not treat PHN.
The most common side effects after receiving the vaccine are redness, soreness, swelling and itching at the site of the injection. Headache is also a common side effect.
Zostavax is not for Everyone
People who are allergic to neomycin or any component of the vaccine should not receive Zostavax. Zostavax is a live vaccine and individuals who have a weakened immune system caused by treatments that they taking such as radiation, a class of drugs called corticosteroids, or due to conditions such as AIDS, cancer of the lymph system, bone or blood should not take Zostavax.
Women who are or may be pregnant also should not take Zostavax. The same is true for children. And, one more word of caution: Zostavax is not a substitute for Varivax, the vaccine to prevent chicken pox.
If you have already had shingles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends you receive the vaccine to prevent future occurrences.
Zostavax decreases the likelihood of shingles and the chronic pain syndrome (PNH) that may accompany the ailment. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine if Zostavax is right for you.
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