The risk of shingles and its complications increases with age. The shingles vaccine can lower that risk.

About 30 percent of Americans will get shingles at some time in their lives. Shingles, or herpes zoster, is caused by the virus that causes chickenpox.

Dr. Joseph Hawkins, a board-certified family physician at Eudora Family Care, said, “Anyone who has had chickenpox is vulnerable.”

He explains that the virus is never fully cleared from the body but remains dormant in nerve tissues. When your immune system is weakened for any reason — physical or emotional stress, medications, age — the virus can be reactivated.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital is a major sponsor of WellCommons.

The first sign of shingles is usually burning, tingling, numbness or itching on one side of the body along the path of the affected nerve. Dr. Hawkins said this can be anywhere in the body but most typically wraps around one side of the torso near the waist line. A rash develops along this line, and this rash can turn into blisters that crust over and take two to four weeks to heal.

“The severity varies with the individual,” Dr. Hawkins said. “Some have only itching. Others have pain so intense that the slightest touch is almost unbearable. Some patients get only a mild rash or none at all.”

Some of the complications that can develop from shingles include encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, facial paralysis, hearing or balance problems, skin infections and painful eye infections that might cause vision loss. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia, which is nerve damage that causes persistent pain affecting the nerve fibers and skin.

The risk of shingles and its complications increases with age. The shingles vaccine can lower that risk. In a study of 38,000 persons age 60 and over, the vaccine reduced the incidence of shingles by 51.3 percent and the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by 66.5 percent.

Zostavax, the shingles vaccine, was first approved in 2006 for most persons age 60 and over. In 2011, the approval was extended to persons age 50 to 59. The mean age of onset for shingles is 52, but half of all cases occur in persons 60 and over.

Zostavax costs about $200. How much of that is covered depends on the deductibles and co-pays of your drug plan. Unlike many other vaccines and preventive measures, Zostavax is not covered directly by Medicare Part B but rather by Medicare Part D, the prescription drug plan. Some doctors stock the vaccine for administration in their offices. Others can write you a prescription and you can get the shot at a pharmacy.

After being tested in about 20,000 adults age 60 and over, the vaccine has a good safety record. The most common side effects reported were redness, soreness, swelling or itching at the injection site. Those who should not get the vaccine include persons who are allergic to any of the vaccine’s components and those who have a weakened immune system because of a disease or medication.

“Shingles is rarely life threatening,” said Dr. Hawkins, “but it can cause considerable suffering, and there is always the risk of serious complications such as vision loss and postherpetic neuralgia.”

Dr. Hawkins points out that you can get shingles even if you have been vaccinated. “But if you do, you’re less likely to suffer the most severe symptoms, and you have a lower risk of postherpetic neuralgia.”

You should discuss with your healthcare provider if you should have a shingles vaccination. About 45,000 American seniors die each year from complications of diseases that could have been prevented through vaccination. “Whether you were vaccinated as child or not, it’s important to keep your immunizations up to date,” advises Dr. Hawkins.

The most important vaccinations adults should consider in addition to shingles are:

• Yearly flu shots

• Pneumococcal vaccine to prevent pneumonia

• Tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap)

— Janice Early, MBA, is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, which is a major sponsor of WellCommons. She can be reached at janice.early@lmh.org.