1. Preventing Shingles

2. Who is at risk for shingles?
Shingles presentation
Who is at risk for shingles?
Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles. Most adults in the United States had chickenpox when they were children, before the advent of the routine childhood vaccination that now protects against chickenpox. The main factor that may increase your risk of developing  shingles include: Being older than 50.

3. What causes an outbreak of shingles?
Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash. Shingles is caused by reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox. Older adults and individuals with a weakened immune system are at greatest risk for developing shingles.

4. Can you get shingles from stress?
Stress doesn't technically cause shingles, but it can cause your immune system to weaken — and a weakened immune system can put you at risk for shingles. A viral illness, shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.

5. How painful is shingles?
Shingles, a viral infection of the nerve roots caused by the chickenpox virus, can sometimes lead to a painful complication called post-herpetic neuralgia. The burning pain of this condition can be severe, even interfering with appetite and sleep

6. Is shingles dangerous to the elderly?
New research links the virus behind chickenpox and shingles to a blood vessel condition that afflicts the elderly and can sometimes be deadly.
Very rarely, shingles can lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation (encephalitis), or death.
Patients experiencing the first signs of shingles  have a higher risk of stroke.
For about one person in five, severe pain can continue even after the rash clears up.

7. How long does shingles last in the elderly?
Most cases of shingles last 3 to 5 weeks. Shingles follows a pattern: The first sign is often burning or tingling pain; sometimes, it includes numbness or itching on one side of the body. Somewhere between 1 and 5 days after the tingling or burning feeling on the skin, a red rash will appear.

8. Can shingles affect the brain?
Depending on which nerves are affected, shingles can cause an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), facial paralysis, or hearing or balance problems. Skin infections. If shingles blisters aren't properly treated, bacterial skin infections may develop.

9. Are shingles contagious?
A person with shingles can spread the disease through direct contact another person when the rash is in the blister phase. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious.

10. Can shingles spread to the brain?
In rare cases, shingles can spread into the brain or spinal cord and cause serious complications such as stroke or meningitis (an infection of the membranes outside the brain and spinal cord). ... The risk of stroke is highest in people with eye zoster, perhaps as much as five percent.

11. What can happen if shingles are left untreated?
It is characterized by severe pain along affected nerves where the herpes zoster virus is located. It can last for several weeks, months, or years, and can be permanent. ... Your eye doctor should be consulted immediately if shingles in the eye area is suspected. If left untreated, the virus can cause blindness.

12. Can shingles go away on their own?
In most cases, the rash and these unpleasant sensations eventually go away, even without treatment. Sometimes, however, post-herpetic neuralgia causes pain for a long time after the rash has gone. ... Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a pain reliever and fever reducer. It will not change the risk of complications from shingles.

13. What age can I get the shingles vaccine?
People age 50 and older can now get Merck's Zostavax shingles vaccine, the FDA today ruled. The vaccine already was approved for people age 60and older. The approval is based on a Merck clinical trial that showed the vaccine to be about 70% effective in preventing shingles in the younger age group.

14. The End