Approximately one out of three people in America will develop shingles during their lifetime and nearly one million Americans experience the condition each year. As you get older, you are more likely to get the disease. Nearly half of all shingles cases occur in people age 60 years or older, but even children can get shingles.  Typically, people develop shingles only once in their lifetime. However, a person can have a second or even a third episode.

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays inactive in the body. For reasons that are not fully known, the virus can reactivate years later and cause shingles. 

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, causes a painful skin rash. It develops on one side of the face or body and forms blisters that typically scab over in seven to ten days and clears up within two to four weeks.  Before the rash develops, people often have pain, itching, or tingling in the area where the rash will develop. This may happen anywhere from one to five days before the rash appears.  Most commonly, the rash occurs in a single stripe around either the left or the right side of the body. In other cases, the rash occurs on one side of the face; and in rare cases, the rash may be more widespread and look similar to a chickenpox rash. Other symptoms of shingles can include fever, headache, chills, and upset stomach and in some cases shingles can affect the eye and cause loss of vision.

People have described pain from shingles as excruciating, aching, burning, stabbing, and shock-like. For some people, the pain can last for months or even years after the rash goes away. This pain is called postherpetic neuralgia. It is the most common complication of shingles. This pain may also lead to depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Shingles can interfere with activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, eating, cooking, shopping, and travel.

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles can be spread from a person with active shingles to another person who has never had chickenpox nor ever been vaccinated against chickenpox. In such cases, the person exposed to the virus might develop chickenpox, but they would not develop shingles.  The virus is spread through direct contact with fluid from the rash blisters caused by shingles.  A person is not infectious before the blisters appear or once the rash has developed crusts.  Shingles is less contagious than chickenpox and the risk of a person with shingles spreading the virus is minimal if the rash is covered.

Vaccination is the only way to reduce your risk of shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. The CDC recommends adults age 60 years or older receive a single dose of shingles vaccine. They should get the vaccine whether or not they recall having had chickenpox.  There is no maximum age for getting shingles vaccine.

Even if you have had shingles, you can still receive shingles vaccine to help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time you must wait after having shingles before receiving shingles vaccine, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has disappeared before getting vaccinated.

Talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about the shingles vaccine.

It’s the middle of July!  Have you taken any days off work this summer?  Has your family gone on a special vacation yet?  Scheduled a couple sanity days just for your mental health yet?
 
Summer means hot temperatures, baseball and softball games, snow cones and cotton candy, hot dogs around the fire pit, sweet corn, BBQ’s, county fairs, swimming, biking and boating.  It also can include lots of miles traveling to different states, sitting in airports waiting for flights, stopping at convenience stores, and staying in hotels for days on end.
 
These scenarios are not always the best for staying on track with your diet and might pose a threat to your physical health as they add hundreds of hours of inactivity sitting.  In addition, there are thousands of fast food options that are greasy, calorie laden, and nutritionally dreadful in restaurants and gas stations, so read the menu carefully and help your kids stay away from adjectives like “crispy”, “smothered”, and “rich”.
 
With a little smart planning and thinking ahead, you can still eat well while you travel.  Pack a cooler with some healthy meals and snacks in a cooler and try to make healthy food choices on summer vacation.  Some easy things to pack in a cooler or grab on vacation include:  apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, dried fruit, trail mix, cashews or walnuts, air popped popcorn, fresh garden salads, pre-cut veggies, mozzarella sticks, and yogurt cups or Go-Gurts.  Other easy and healthy options include: grilled chicken bites, homemade protein fruit smoothies, whole grain peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or tortilla wraps.  Choose bottled water over soda to help stay hydrated.
 
Pack the cooler, slather on some sunscreen, remember to buckle up your seat belt, drink extra cold water when it is humid out, walk 30 minutes each day, and have a great summer vacation before school starts again.  Oh, and don’t text and drive!