Shingles

[timeasterday]

My wife is doing better today. She still has the shock type pain that keeps coming but it is not as bad as it was. The rash is not spreading out any more and the blisters look like they are not as "bumpy." She had a fever over 100° this week but today it is down to normal.

 

[braumeister]

Even though I had shingles in my 50s, I still got the immunization at 60 because my doc recommended it to reduce the severity of any recurrence.

For those around that age, there is also a pneumonia immunization that is recommended for [-]geezers[/-] folks the same age, which I would also recommend, Might as well get them both together and save a trip.

If you haven't had shingles, you probably don't have any idea just how painful it can be, so any protection is well worth your time and money.

 

[prof12]

At 65 I decided to go for the "holy trinity": flu, pneumonia and shingles shots. All that is left to get is the shingles and I should be set for a while. I've never had shingles, but I've seen what it can do and it is not pretty!!!!
Prof12

 

[kramer]

What was the reasoning behind the "Age 60" decision?

This was the original CDC recommendation. It was maybe around 6 years ago that they recommended that the entire population 60 years and over get the vaccine with a few listed exceptions. They felt there was finally enough medical data on the vaccine to justify this. As you get older, not only does the disease become more frequent, but *more* importantly, it becomes more severe (on average) and thus more important to prevent.

After that, several important studies came in showing the efficacy of the vaccine in large populations and among younger people. So a couple of years ago or so the CDC recommended the vaccine for all those over 50, with a few exceptions. However, this has not gone totally into effect yet, solely because there has been a shortage of the vaccine and they didn't want the 60 and ups deprived by all the 50s folks getting the vaccine who need it less than those 60 and over. When the shortage is gone, it will be 50+. This is all from memory, the latest may have changed slightly.