One-Third of US Adults Face Shingles Risk, Preventable by Vaccine After Age 50
Updated
Updated · HuffPost · Jun 8
One-Third of US Adults Face Shingles Risk, Preventable by Vaccine After Age 50
3 articles · Updated · HuffPost · Jun 8
Summary
1 in 3 US adults who have had chickenpox will develop shingles, a painful blistering rash caused when the dormant virus reactivates in nerves.
Adults 50 and older and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk, while stress and other immune-suppressing factors can also trigger cases in younger people.
Early antiviral treatment—ideally within 3 days of the rash appearing—can shorten illness and lower the risk of postherpetic neuralgia, lingering nerve pain after the rash fades.
Shingles usually appears as a burning rash on one side of the body, but cases near the eye or ear can cause vision or hearing loss and can spread chickenpox to people without immunity.
Shingrix is recommended for adults over 50 and some immunocompromised younger people, and doctors say vaccination can also help prevent repeat cases.