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Health & Fitness

Avoid Painful Shingles with Painless Vaccine

Avoid Painful Shingles with Painless Vaccine

By George Gombossy

Editor www.CtWatchdog.com  Www.CtCondonews.com

Driving through Connecticut I see more and more signs for shingles vaccinations advertised in front of pharmacies. While my eyes see the signs, my mind sees a long needle.

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After two of my friends came down with shingles and told me in detail the pain they went through, the vaccination won out.

As a Costco member (and a huge fan of Costco and its employees) I decided to get my shot there, in the Enfield store.

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Rob Trimani, the pharmacy manager, has given hundreds of shingle vaccinations over the last two years he has offered it. A sensitive man, Rob promised it wouldn't hurt.

I was warned that I needed to set aside 40 minutes as the vaccine is frozen and needs to be thawed out - thank God. It is a live virus. By the way, anyone can use the Costco Pharmacy. You don't have to be a member. They have the best prices for most medication.

But it did, especially when I had to shell out $191 as my health insurarer - United Health - refused to cover the vaccination.

The actual shot - could not feel it. Didn't even know when I got it because being a huge wimp I refused to look. I can't even watch someone on TV getting a shot or having blood drawn.

Instead of going into a muscle, the vaccination goes into a fatty area - Rob - a regular Henry Kissinger - told me I had very little fat in my right arm to work with. Looking to the left he could have found a lot more.

There was no reaction at the shot site and I was good to go.

So now let me tell you why you should get a shingle vaccination - especially if you hit 60 and had chicken pox.

 

Not only is shingles incredibly painful, it can last for months and for years and once you get it, shingles can come back. My friends, one in his 50s and the other in his high 80s, attest to it.

And considering that one out of three people will get shingles and for one out of five it will never go away, one shot is a wise decision

"Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso," says the Mayo clinic.

"Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles."

"While it isn't a life-threatening condition, shingles can be very painful. Vaccines can help reduce the risk of shingles, while early treatment can help shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications."

"Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken for a symptom of problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys. Some people experience shingles pain without ever developing the rash," says the Mayo Clinic.

"Most commonly, the shingles rash develops as a stripe of blisters. Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face."

If the rash or pain occurs near an eye it can lead to permanent eye damage.

Shingle vaccine will not guarantee that you won't get shingles, but it greatly reduces your chances, especially in the 60 to 69 age group. It also reduces the severity if you do get shingles.

"In a clinical trial involving more than 38,000 adults 60 years of age or older, the vaccine reduced the overall incidence of shingles by 51% and the incidence of PHN by 67%. The efficacy of the vaccine in preventing shingles was higher in the younger age group (60-69 years; vaccine efficacy was 64%) than in the older age group (older than 70 years; vaccine efficacy was 38%)," says the CDC.

Studies are ongoing to assess the duration of protection from one dose of zoster vaccine and the need, if any, for booster doses.

There are no comprehensive data on the effectiveness of zoster vaccine in treating shingles once it occurs, and the vaccine is not licensed for this indication.

Rob suggested I appeal United Health's refusal to pay for the vaccination. You may want to be better prepared and have your doctor contact your carrier and apply pressure for coverage.

Also check around, the price for one shot - that is all you need - can be higher than $800.

You can reach The Watchdog at george@ctwatchdog.com and he will answer for free as many emails as he can. Please check out his site, www.ctwatchdog.com for comprehensive consumer, health, finance, shopping, nutrition, elderly issues, media, internet, computer, travel, auto, and education tips. And check out www.CtCondoNews.com for condo consumer news in Connecticut.

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