Back in June of 2022, I was awakened to some nasty symptoms. My scalp was burning- sort of like I had a sunburn, and there were the beginnings of red welts on my forehead, temple, and most disconcertingly, around my left eye. Since I had been practicing pharmacy for over forty years and have talked with patients who had shingles, I had a pretty good idea of what was happening to me. One of the most important things that one can do if they suspect shingles, is to go see a doctor ASAP. The sooner one gets started on an anti-viral medication, the better the outcome. The doctor that I saw at Urgent Care also referred me to an ophthalmologist ( eye doctor) . That was because the shingles was so close to one of my eyes. Sure enough, the ophthalmologist confirmed that I did have shingles in my left eye. He upped my dose of the anti-viral that the doctor at Urgent care had prescribed, and added a steroid eye drop. I made several visits to the ophthalmologist that summer. And I took the anti -viral medication for about six weeks. The good news is that the shingles finally cleared up and I did not lose vision in that eye.
Fast forward to September, 2023. Sadly enough, I have shingles again. I have them on the same places as before except that while they are close to my left eye again, they are not in my eye. This was confirmed yesterday by my ophthalmologist. You might be wondering, why did I not get my shingles vaccination after round one with shingles? I had read that one needs to wait until one has fully recovered from a shingles outbreak to get the vaccination. This could be anywhere from three to six months. Since it has been over a year from my first tango with shingles, I really have no excuse. Big mistake on my part, not getting the shingles vaccine before now. I am not an anti-vaxer person. I have received all of my covid vaccines as scheduled, but for some reason I just did not think that I would get shingles again. I was certainly wrong about that!
If a person has had cancer ( or two kinds, like me) or is currently in treatment for cancer, that person could be immunocompromised. A big word that means the disease and treatment ( especially chemotherapy) has affected our white blood cells. It has been proven that a person needs a certain number of these white blood cells to successfully fight off any offenders, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. While chemotherapy is busy killing off the cancer cells, some healthy white blood cells ( call it "friendly fire") get killed off also. Our bodies are trying to kill off the cancer cells, too, so that lowers our immunity to some of the other offenders listed above.
The current shingles vaccine ( Shingrix) is a two shot deal. After I fully recover from shingles, I will get the first vaccine. Then, it is recommended in two to six months after the first shot, to get the second one. No vaccine provides 100% immunity from illness, but this newer vaccine provides anywhere from 68% to 97% effectiveness in the prevention of shingles. Trust me on this, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET SHINGLES!!
The CDC has recommended that adults 50 years and older get the two dose Shingrix vaccine. Adults 19 years of age and older who are immunocompromised due to disease and/or treatment are also encouraged to get the vaccine. The down side is, as it usually is, the cost of the vaccine. If one has medicare, the cost is covered at no charge. For adults too young for medicare, the cost is fairly expensive. A call to one's insurance company in this case would be necessary to find out how much this would cost.
So why worry about getting shingles? Well, there is the pain- sometimes unbearable, depending on the site and how fast one gets treatment. The pain has been described as aching, burning, stabbing or shock-like. These symptoms can occur several days before the rash appears. When the rash does appear, it can progress to blisters that crust over. The rash usually lasts 7-10 days, and will heal in 2-4 weeks. Other possible symptoms of shingles include: fever, headache, light intolerance, and just a feeling of being unwell. I had all of those symptoms except for the fever. Shingles follow a nerve pathway, and can appear on the torso, arms, thighs, or head( including the eyes or nose) A serious consequence is that the pain can be LONG TERM and severe, and remain long after the rash clears.
I am writing this blog with the hope that people, especially those who have had or currently have cancer, will talk to their physician about getting the shingles vaccine. I would not wish shingles on anyone! I hope that maybe this blog will encourage those people who have been putting off getting the vaccine ( unfortunately like I did) to get their shingles vaccine ASAP.
