Health beat: Prevent shingles

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, causes a painful, blistering skin rash that can last two to four weeks. For some people, the pain can last for months or even years after the rash goes away. This is called postherpetic neuralgia or PHN. It is the most common complication of shingles. The risk of shingles and PHN increases as a person gets older.

People have described pain from shingles as excruciating, aching, burning, stabbing and shocklike. It has been compared to the pain of childbirth or kidney stones. The pain can cause depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite and weight loss. Shingles can interfere with activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, eating, cooking, shopping and travel. Shingles can lead to other serious complications, including eye complications that can result in vision loss.

What causes shingles?

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, or VZV, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in the body. For reasons that are not fully known, the virus can reactivate years later and cause shingles.

How common is shingles?

Almost 1 out of 3 people in America will develop shingles during their lifetime. Nearly 1 million Americans experience the condition each year. As people get older, they are more likely to get the disease. About half of all shingles cases occur in people 60 or older.

Is shingles contagious?

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, a person with shingles can transmit VZV to others. A person who gets infected with VZV for the first time will develop chickenpox, not shingles.

How to reduce the risk of getting shingles?

Vaccination is the only way to reduce the risk of shingles and PHN. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults 60 or older receive a single dose of shingles vaccine. Zostavax is the only shingles vaccine available. It is available by prescription from a health-care professional. Talk with a doctor or pharmacist if there are questions about shingles vaccine.

People who have a weakened immune system may have to wait to get vaccinated, or should not get vaccinated at all. To see who should not get the vaccine, visit tinyurl.com/mklduxw.

The CDC does not have a recommendation for routine use of shingles vaccine in people 50 through 59 years old. However, the vaccine is approved by FDA for people 50 and older.

Health Beat is a weekly spotlight on a wide range of health issues. The information contained here was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. View the CDC features online at cdc.gov/features.