Taking Shingles Seriously

Shingles (or Herpes Zoster) is an often-forgotten disease. But those who have experienced a bout with the painful rash and blisters will attest that the shingles vaccine, Zostavax, is a must-have.

Shingles affects at least 1 million people in the United States each year. You might have heard that you can only get chicken pox once, but you probably haven’t heard that it can come back in a different way…

If you’ve had chickenpox- or even just the chickenpox vaccine- you’re at risk for shingles. Why? The Varicella Zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, stays in your body and can reappear many years later causing shingles. While shingles isn’t contagious, it’s more common among those with weakened immune systems, like the elderly.