Shingles is Painful but Preventable with Shingles Vaccination
If you’ve ever known anyone who has had shingles, then you know you don’t want to get it! Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the chicken pox virus. Shingles is painful, but preventable – that’s the good news. Shingles is 90% preventable when you’ve had the Shingles vaccine. What Is Shingles? The varicella-zoster virus is responsible for both chicken pox and shingles. You can only get shingles if you’ve previously had Chicken Pox. Once the chicken pox virus is in your body, it never goes away, and it can appear later as shingles. Shingles create a rash of blisters with a red base that can be painful. It's also very contagious. Shingles usually runs its course in 7 to 10 days. The most effective way to avoid getting shingles is by getting vaccinated. Shingles Vaccine The Shingrix vaccine for Shingles is considered more than 90% effective. Two doses of Shingrix are recommended for the prevention of shingles....