Joseph asks…
Can you take the shingles vaccine when you’re sick?
If you have a bad cold, sore throat, etc…. Can you take the shingles vaccine? Please – no “I don’t know”, or “Go see a doctor”.
admin answers:
Sorry, but your doctor is your best guide. Normally, it is recommended you recover from any illness before you get the vaccine, but your doctor may say it is ok, depending on the severity of your symptoms, whether or not you have a fever, etc. You definitely don’t want the vaccine to make you sicker.
Donald asks…
If a retiree did not have chicken pox in childhood, is there any reason to take the new Shingles vaccine?
I don’t remember having chicken pox, and both parents and my elder sibling are deceased, so there is no one I can ask to verify whether I did or didn’t have chicken pox in early childhood. I have been unable to find any documentation concerning this in my files.
admin answers:
In answer to your initial question, no, there’s no reason to have the Zostavax vaccine.
But since you go on to say that in reality you don’t know if you had chicken pox or not, you can have blood titers drawn to measure for varicella zoster virus antibodies. Varicella zoster is the virus that causes chicken pox. If you don’t have any antibodies or if yours are insufficient for active immunity, you’d be better off getting a chicken pox vaccine. Speak to your doctor about this and follow your doctor’s advice.
Charles asks…
Can someone who had the chicken pox vaccine get shingles?
I know that if someone had chicken pox, they can have shingles. What about the vaccine?
admin answers:
OH YES!
Maria asks…
If you get a shingles vaccine…can you “give” a child chicken pox?
I am getting a shingles vaccine but I babysit my niece – who has not yet had the chicken pox. Is it possible to give her the chicken pox due to the live virus in the vaccine?
admin answers:
The varicella virus in Zostavax is attentuated. This means weakened. But you may still give it to her. In fact, you’re also likely to transmit the virus during one of your Herpes zoster outbreaks. Suggestion: Your niece gets vaccinated and you keep your distance for a week or so. But you should be speaking to your doctor about this and take that advice.
Mandy asks…
Could enlarged abdominal lymph nodes be a side effect of the shingles vaccine?
admin answers:
This is a live vaccine which works by boosting the immune response.
Enlarged lymph nodes are a common immune response.
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