Donna asks…
I had (have?) Bronchitis and my grandmother has gotten a shingles shot, is it okay to be around her?
My grandmother had the Shingels shot, now my fever has been gone since last weekend and I only have an occasional hacky cough a few times during the day. Is it okay for me to be around my grandmother even though she has had the Shingels shot? I’ve heard that its not good to be around someone with the shor if your immune system is down, but I feel much better now and I’m pretty sure my immune system is almost back to normal. Please note that I’m no longer on any medication or anything due to the lack of need. I would like my answer from a health professional or someone who has been in my situation before. Thank you.
admin answers:
This is actually a great question which is two-fold:
Your bronchitis may or may not be contagious and the Zostavax will not make your grandmother more vulnerable to the bronchitis.
For you, it is true that if someone has a live vaccine, they should try to stay away from people who are severely immunocompromised or pregnant. If bronchitis is your only problem, you are probably fine. If you have had an organ transplant, are on steroids, have leukemia, had had a bone marrow transplant, are neutropenic, pregnant, have AIDS, anything like that, you maybe should stay away for a few days. Otherwise, go visit grandma but wash your hands and don’t cough on her.
Lisa asks…
I’m over 70 should i get a shot for shingles that the doctors are pushing?
admin answers:
I am 73 and have been thinking about that also. My Great Aunt had the shingles and the doctor had to put her on strong pain medication, because her one side hurt so bad. I have had chicken pox, so I am more likely to get shingles than someone who has not had the childhood disease. I am going to ask my Doctor about the shot and the side effects and then decide.
My Great Aunt was quite healthy until she had the shingles and they seemed to take something out of her, she lived to be 100, but always had trouble sleeping after the disease.
Carol asks…
Is there a shot available to prevent shingles?
admin answers:
Yes, there is a vaccine available called Zostavax.
“Zostavax is a vaccine developed by Merck & Co. Which has proven successful in preventing half the cases of herpes zoster in a study of 38,000 people who received the vaccine.[3] The vaccine also reduced by two-thirds the number of cases of postherpetic neuralgia.[4] However, prior to the vaccine, it has long been known that adults received natural immune boosting from contact with children infected with varicella. This helped to suppress the reactivation of herpes zoster.[5] In Massachusetts, herpes zoster incidence increased 90%, from 2.77/1000 to 5.25/1000 in the period of increasing varicella vaccination 1999-2003.[6] The effectiveness of the varicella vaccine itself is dependent on this exogenous (outside) boosting mechanism. Thus, as natural cases of varicella decline, so has the effectiveness of the vaccine.[7]”
Paul asks…
can a person get shingles afte having a shingle shot?
After getting a shingle shot,what is the risk of geting shingles?
admin answers:
The varicella vaccine (varicella zoster is the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles) is a live vaccine. This means that the virus in the shot is alive, but it has been altered so that it can give you immunity but will not cause disease in a normal person.
A small number of people develop a mild rash after getting the shot. This is not the same as shingles or chickenpox disease, but can appear quite similar.
However, the shot shot not be given to people whose immune system doesn’t work properly, as they can develop disease from the live virus in the shot.
Donald asks…
Getting a shingles shot at 27?
I’m 27 and my sister (29) just got shingles, apparently it runs in the family. My q is that do I need a Doctors prescription to get a shingles shot or can I just go to the pharmacy and get one? Also how much $$ do they cost because I can’t afford health insurance.
admin answers:
Zostavax is not approved for your age group, and so, you can’t get it.
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