I had it several years ago; nothing of real concern so far, although occasional spots of ghost itchiness might have been a result...hard to tell.
Oh no you guys are scaring me. I had chicken pox so I'll need to get the shingles vaccine when I get older. Now I hear that might make things worse???
ITCHING???? Tell me all about it. Where? Appearance? When? I got my shot about 2 years ago and about last June I started to get itchy areas on my back, and now it's spread to my ribs, abdomen, and upper arms. Nobody knows what it is and I'm putting triamcinolone on it. The shingles shot didn't occur to me.
EVERYBODY has been exposed to chicken pox, and a test can determine whether a person is a carrier, in which case it is said that they should get the shot. I didn't ever have chicken pox but I tested positive as my doctor said I would, and so I got the shot. He said EVERYBODY is a carrier because we were all exposed to it.
Far be it from me to give medical advice... THOROUGHLY research a vaccine before putting it in you. There are some really bad ones out there. Just remember- the corporation selling you the vaccine has zero liability if it harms you (thx Reagan). Vaccine injury damages are paid through a federal program that taxes vaccine sales into a fund. ALL damages are paid out of that fund, NO damages are paid out of the vaccine makers profits. Big Pharma Corporations are entirely on the 'honor system' when it comes to providing you a safe product. Well, the honor system and the FDA, of course, which has what some would consider an 'exchange program' between regulators and Big Pharma Executives... but Im sure your safety is their top priority... now...
Well then @modernpaladin, with that kind of viewpoint (which I agree with BTW) I think you will like this. Take your time and watch the whole thing. He has some experts in the field making very noteworthy comments.
Rule out more common causes first, like allergens in laundry soap and those awful laundry "softener" sheets. Change clothing more often if you don't already. Also, depending on your age, you might be getting dry skin. You may have to cut back on showers and/or use a nonallergenic shower soap with moisturizer. You could also try a shower soap Walmart sells in a dark blue bottle that has epsom salts in it; I have found it very useful to prevent itchiness. Some moisturizers have ingredients that can be very allergenic to some, so research on Google for that. If you have a pet, don't let it sleep with you. Almost all of them carry skin mites. Staph can cause itchiness; that can be picked up in health clubs, especially from pools and hot tubs, but also from the equipment. Best approach is low key--keep skin moisturized and clean--but you could try the new spray bottles of hydrogen peroxide to calm itchy areas that won't subside. Hydrogen peroxide also seems to act as a mild moisturizer. (More resistant staph varieties can sometimes be eradicated with a couple of splashes of Dakins, but that is overkill if hydrogen peroxide will work.) If you take a lot of vitamin D cut back a bit. IMO it can rev up some immune systems too much. If it is from the shot, IMO too much D could make it worse, by stimulating antibody reactions that otherwise might not occur. There are scores of anti-itch creams on the market, and many can be quite useful. Tiger Balm is supposed to be good for mites, but there are also ones with antihistamine and cortisone ingredients, so you need to experiment.
The CDC says the vaccination reduces your chance of shingles by 50%. Shingles incidence rate is about 12 (per 1000 people), so with the vaccination it should be 6 in 1000 - still a fairly high rate. As a comparison, right now the flu incidence rate is about 40 per 1000, which is very high. Also, vaccines only give temporary immunity. The CDC claims the shingles vaccine (Zostavax) provides some immunity for only 5 years. Vaccinations provide benefit for typically <10 years. When you actually get an illness and recover, you have life long immunity. Adverse reaction to Zostavax is actually unknown because they entire vaccination adverse reaction reporting system is completely unreliable. In the Navy, the enlisted men in a squadron are typically given the flu vaccine as a group, and typically about 10% of them will get mildly sick and another 10% will miss work (fever, aches, etc). We see it every year. And these incidents are not found anywhere in the vaccination adverse reaction reporting. So you may have an adverse reaction to the vaccine, you may have shingles, or you may have something totally unrelated (sorry, which is really no help to you).
I need to make an appointment to get that shot too, I had chicken poxs and would prefer to avoid shingles
I only got my shingles shot because my spouse did, and I was afraid that might expose me to the virus. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/expert-answers/shingles-vaccine/FAQ-20058137
Testing - to see if I'm still a member of PF! Yes, I am - good. UPDATE I bit the bullet and had the inoculation; apart from a slight ache in my left shoulder (I had the injection in my left arm) the following day, which disappeared after a couple of hours, there were no side effects whatsoever.
No. Bite the bullet. How many hours do you spend per week posting on forums? How many hours are lost to wasted time per day? The whole video is good and it actually ends a few minutes before the video runs out.
