Varicella-zoster.
That's easy for you to say, or maybe not. But it's easy for you to get if you haven't been vaccinated. The varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox.
Until the mid-1990s, chickenpox was a common – almost inevitable – childhood disease characterized by itchy spots, fatigue, and fever. Around four million cases occurred annually. Of those, around 10,000 people were hospitalized. About one child and one adult died per week. Since the development of the chickenpox vaccine, cases have declined dramatically.
While the majority of cases are not life threatening, a few can be. It's impossible to predict who will have a mild case and who will have serious or deadly complications.
The varicella vaccination is 85-percent effective in preventing chickenpox. When people who have been vaccinated get the disease, it's usually a very mild case (less than 50 pox) lasting only a few days. The vaccine also reduces your risk of shingles.
Déjà vu: It's Shingles for You
Once you've had chickenpox, you're at risk for a blistering rash known as shingles. Like all the other herpes simplex viruses, the chickenpox virus remains in the nerve roots of every person who has had chickenpox. The immune system keeps the virus in check. But when your immune system weakens – as it often does with stress, certain illnesses, and age – the chickenpox virus reactivates.
Typically, shingles begins with numbness, itching, or severe pain followed by clusters of blister-like lesions in a strip-like pattern on one side of your body. Sometimes it wraps around your chest or back; occasionally it appears on one side of your face or affects your eyes. Shingles of the eyes can cause blindness or lead to glaucoma.
Regardless of where shingles appears on your body, the rash will go away in a week or two. However, the pain can persist for weeks, months, or even years after the rash heals. The skin of some people with shingles will be extremely sensitive to touch. Even a breeze blowing against the skin can be painful.
Treatment
Most people only have one bout with shingles. But about four percent will have repeat outbreaks. Immediate treatment (within 48 hours) can reduce the severity and duration of a shingles outbreak. Treatment for shingles includes antiviral drugs, steroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and topical agents.
Non-aspirin over-the-counter pain medications can help with nerve pain. Medicated lotion used to soothe chickenpox can reduce pain and itching of the blisters. Some people find relief by applying cool compresses on the blisters. Others prefer warm compresses. Ask your healthcare provider for self-treatment recommendations.
Preventable, Almost
It's impossible to "catch" shingles from someone who has it. Instead, you can become infected with chickenpox if you haven't already had them. Most people who get shingles have had chickenpox. Shingles is less common in people who have received the varicella vaccine.
Shingles Vaccine
Zostavax, a vaccine for shingles, is now licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for use in people who are at least 60 years old. This one-time vaccination doesn't treat an existing case of shingles or the pain after the rash goes away, but it can prevent it – even for people who've already had shingles.
A person's risk for getting shingles begins to rise around age 50. However, the vaccine is only recommended for people age 60 and older – but only because the research only studied people in that age range. Future research will determine if the recommended age for vaccination should be lowered.
Talk with your doctor to see if a vaccination – for chickenpox or shingles – is right for you. |
