After causing shingles, the virus again goes "back to sleep" inside your nerves. But it can still flare up again. Your chances of getting shingles increase as you get older.
The U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC recommends that adults age 50 and older get vaccinated against shingles. Shingrix is the preferred vaccine. The CDC recommends Shingrix for adults 50 years and older, whether or not they have already had shingles or previously received the Zostavax vaccine, which has been used since Having one or more blood relatives with shingles may also increase your risk of getting shingles.
If you suspect that you have recurring shingles, see your doctor as soon as possible. Taking an antiviral drug like acyclovir Zovirax , valacyclovir Valtrex , or famciclovir Famvir can reduce the severity of shingles and reduce how long it lasts.
Your doctor may also prescribe medications to lessen your pain and help you sleep. These include the following:. You can also take cool baths with colloidal oatmeal to ease the itching, or apply cold compresses to the affected area. Rest and stress reduction are also important. In a small number of cases, the pain can remain once the rash has healed. This is called postherpetic neuralgia PHN. Up to 2 percent of people who get shingles have PHN for five years or more.
The risk increases with age. A large-scale study showed that people who had the shingles vaccine had 51 percent fewer cases of shingles. For people years old, the shingles vaccine reduced the risk of shingles by People who received the shingles vaccine generally had less severe cases of shingles.
They also had 66 percent fewer occurrences of PHN. Doctors recommend the shingles vaccine for people over 50 but not for those who have a weakened immune system. Internal shingles occurs when shingles invades the nerves inside the body. Read on to learn the causes and how to treat it. Shingles without a rash is uncommon, but it can occur. This condition…. Other shared symptoms include fever, fatigue, and headache. Once the primary infection chickenpox resolves, VZV moves into the dorsal root ganglia where it remains dormant for decades.
Although the incidence rate in the general population is about 4 cases per individuals, it increases to about 1 case per individuals among people who are 60 years and older. Immunocompromised people are particularly prone to relapse. The time period between an initial case of shingles and a reoccurrence can vary, but researchers have identified a 4- to 8-year window as most likely. A study conducted in Minnesota reported that during an average of 7 years of follow-up, HZ recurrences were as common as HZ incident occurrences in the studied population, when matching for age, sex, and immune status.
One of the best ways to prevent future attacks is to get the shingles vaccine. Unfortunately, many of the medical conditions and treatments that predispose you to shingles also prevent you from getting the vaccine. If removing the factors that are suppressing your immune system isn't possible, early treatment is often the best response to recurrent shingles. In severe or frequent cases, ongoing medication to reduce the risk of shingles may be an option.
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once you've had chickenpox, varicella-zoster stays in your body for the rest of your life. The virus can be reactivated at any time, resulting in shingles.
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