If you have shingles, it hurts a lot. Only those who have been tortured by it know that it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a pain--
If you want to prevent this disease, in addition to eating, sleeping, exercising well, and strengthening your immunity, there is now a simple, crude and effective prevention method - to get shingles vaccine !
"Is the effect good? Vaccines are not clear!"
"My old mother has been fed up with the sin of shingles, so she doesn't know if she is suitable for her?"
"I have made an appointment for flu vaccine recently. How long can I get the shingles vaccine after a long time?"
...
below, Associate Professor Ye Ling from the Department of Pain in West China Hospital of Sichuan University will tell you why doctors recommend people over 50 to get shingles vaccine, how effective is the prevention and some precautions for vaccination.
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shingles
A kind of painless disease
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1. About shingles
shingles is an acute inflammatory skin disease caused by the "varicella-zoster virus". It is clinically manifested as clusters of tunnel blisters, distributed in a banded shape along the unilateral peripheral nerves. If you have shingles, your skin will have red rashes, and the rash will be distributed like a long strip.
herpes virus has a basic characteristic, that is, after being infected for the first time, it will be lurking in the body for a long time. Under the influence of factors such as low immunity, advanced age, chronic diseases, and fatigue, the virus in the body may be activated again.
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2. The most obvious feature of shingles: Pain
shingles can cause neuralgia. Medically, the pain caused by shingles is called "burning-like", "electric shock-like" and "sting-like" pain. Patients who have shingles will describe this pain, which is really painful!
Therefore, shingles are also called "undead cancer", and many patients even feel that this neuralgia is more painful than cancer pain.
Moreover, this pain may persist. Long-term pain will seriously interfere with the patient's daily life. There may also be sleep disorders , anxiety, depression and other conditions.
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3. Shingles zoster is the most "favorite" for middle-aged and elderly people
Shingles This virus "favorite" middle-aged and elderly people. The older they are, the more likely they are, and the more serious the condition is, the more likely they are to occur. Shells zoster is over 50 years old. Even middle-aged and elderly people in normal health will have a lot of risk of getting shingles after the age of 50.
patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes , chronic kidney disease , cardiovascular disease, COPD pulmonary , rheumatoid arthritis and other people with low immune function, the risk of developing shingles will also increase accordingly.
Therefore, for middle-aged and elderly people, early prevention, early diagnosis and early treatment of shingles are very important.
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4. Treatment of shingles
If a friend is unfortunately caught, it is recommended to go to the hospital for treatment and treatment in time. For example, some methods can relieve pain, such as pain department, neurosurgery department, etc.
In the pain department, in addition to basic drug treatment, there are also some special treatment methods, such as nerve block, nerve radiofrequency, short-term spinal cord electrical stimulation, etc., which can improve the effectiveness of the treatment and thus avoid or reduce the occurrence of sequelae.
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Prevent shingles
The easiest and effective thing is to get vaccinated
Prevent shingles zoster. Eat well, sleep well, exercise well, maintain good immunity, and try to avoid the immunity caused by the shingles virus when it attacks your body.
However, maintaining a good work and rest and strengthening immunity is not something that can be done by haha. Especially now, people work more overtime, eat more, and stay up late. There are many cases of middle-aged and elderly friends playing with their mobile phones until the early morning. If they have a chronic disease, the shingles virus will be more likely to be stimulated.
Therefore, there is another simple and effective way to prevent shingles, which is to get shingles vaccine.It is also very convenient to get the shingles vaccine for
. After evaluation by the doctor, you can get vaccinated. Just choose the community health service center for to get vaccinated.
Right, friends, West China Hospital cannot receive shingled vaccine for herpes, don’t go to the wrong place!
At present, the minimum recommended vaccination age for the approved shingles vaccine is 50 years old, that is, only adults aged 50 and above can be vaccinated. A total of 2 shots were inoculated, with a interval of 2 to 6 months.
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The effect and safety of shingles vaccine
1. Effect: Protective effect exceeds 90%
1. Effect: Protective effect exceeds 90%
shingles are the same as other common vaccines. Although the efficacy of preventing diseases is less than 100%, after clinical verification, the protective effect of shingles vaccine for people aged 50 and above is more than 90%.
Don’t underestimate this data 90%. Although the vaccine cannot guarantee that shears zoster will not be 100% successful, it will at least help you resist 90% of the risk.
At the same time, the effect of shingles vaccine lasts for a long time:
① The protective effect of people over 50 and over 70 years old in the fourth year after vaccination reached 93.1% and 87.9% respectively;
②10-year follow-up study found that after herpes zoster vaccination, the humoral immunity level was 6.0 times that before vaccination, and the cellular immunity level was 3.5 times that before vaccination;
③ Mathematical model predicts that the vaccine-related immune response can last for at least 20 years after the first vaccination.
2. Safety: The adverse reaction is very small
According to current data, the herpes zoster vaccine is relatively safe. The most common adverse reaction is the possibility of redness, swelling and pain at the injection site after injection.
Most adverse reactions are mild to moderate, with a short duration and no special treatment is required. They can be relieved on their own within 1 to 3 days.
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The most asked questions about shingles vaccine
The most asked questions
Questions
Questions
Have shingles, do you still need to be vaccinated?
Answer
Of course you need it!
Because shingles virus can lurk in the human body for a long time, there is a possibility of recurrence. Adults with a history of shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia can be vaccinated. As for when the vaccination will be available, we need to consult a specialist.
Questions
Can elderly people with underlying diseases be vaccinated?
Answer
Use conditions, you can be vaccinated! Under informed consent and weighing the pros and cons, middle-aged and elderly people (ages 50 years and above) who do not suffer from chronic diseases (such as chronic renal failure , diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic lung disease) during the acute attack period can be vaccinated.
Questions
Which group of people is not suitable for vaccination?
Answer
① If there is a history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the vaccine, it is not suitable for vaccination.
② Patients suffering from shingles cannot receive the vaccination immediately. The vaccination should be delayed until the end of the acute phase of the disease and the symptoms disappear.
Ask
How long will it take to get the shingles vaccine after receiving other vaccines?
Answer
After receiving other vaccines such as new crown vaccine , influenza vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, etc., shingles vaccine can be vaccinated after two weeks.
Reference
1. Dermatology Branch of China Association for the Promotion of International Healthcare Exchange, Chinese Medical Association Dermatology Research Center for the Research of Sedative Dermatology, Chinese Medical Association Dermatology Branch. Expert consensus on herpes zoster vaccination [J]. Chinese Journal of Medicine, 2022, 102(8): 538-543.
2. American Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice Herpes zoster vaccination recommendations in October 2017. China Vaccination and Immunization, 2020, 26(3): 359-362.
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