Shingles Support Group
Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. It occurs very rarely in children and adults, but its incidence is high in the elderly (over 60), as well as in any age group of immunocompromised patients.
This question has probably been asked and answered a million times by this group, but I'm new around here.
In October i reached the magic age of 60 years old. I got one shot for shingles, but I cant find anywhere if that is all I'll ever need, or if more immunizations are necessary. I'd appreciate your help if you can give it to me.
In October i reached the magic age of 60 years old. I got one shot for shingles, but I cant find anywhere if that is all I'll ever need, or if more immunizations are necessary. I'd appreciate your help if you can give it to me.
-------------------------------------
ZOSTAVAX (Zoster Vaccine Live) is given as a single shot. ZOSTAVAX cannot be used to treat Shingles, or the nerve pain that may follow Shingles, once you have it. The need for revaccination has not been established.
------------------------------------------
http://www.zostavax.com/pdc/zostavax/faqs.jsp
This site can answer a lot of questions. The company, Merck, probably would like to sell more shots, but, they themselves state that the need has not been established.
That's a good decision, to ask your doctor. But if you hang around this support group long enough, you'll find that MikeWhite hits the nail on the head more often than most doctors do. :)