Value Buy
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Post by Value Buy on Sept 11, 2015 18:15:48 GMT -5
Might want to correct your second sentence. Shingles occurs in people who have had Chicken Pox. The virus remains dormant in our cells, from the original disease. A person who has not had chicken pox and has not had the vaccine can get chicken pox (not shingles) if they come into contact with oozing blisters and the virus is passed to them. It's not common but it can definitely happen. Looks like I mis-read the original statement. I read it as you cannot have shingles unless you have not had Chicken Pox. Sorry.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2015 18:25:58 GMT -5
Watched my mom go through the agony many decades ago and have watched other dear friends die from the pain killer addiction acquired while treating. I got the vaccine last year but it's not 100%. Life is always iffy, isn't it? I had chix-pox back in the 50's so I carry the virus for sure. DH (age 75+) claims he never had the chix-pox and so rejects the vaccine. He lives under the skin cancer threat (3 biopsies last week) so I can't trash him now.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Sept 11, 2015 18:28:24 GMT -5
A person who has not had chicken pox and has not had the vaccine can get chicken pox (not shingles) if they come into contact with oozing blisters and the virus is passed to them. It's not common but it can definitely happen. Looks like I mis-read the original statement. I read it as you cannot have shingles unless you have not had Chicken Pox. Sorry. No problem. Shingles is one of those things that has all sorts of rumor associated with it. People just don't understand how it works. It's good it's being discussed so those who haven't had it, or don't understand it can learn. As an aside, I once had a rather highly-placed nurse explain to me, quite patiently, that you couldn't get shingles if you'd had chicken pox. I exercised weapons-grade control and didn't laugh. I did, however, take the time to explain how the virus works. He looked at me askance, but the matter didn't come up again. A mutual friend told me he'd read up on it and found out I was right. So, it's not just the layman who doesn't understand.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Sept 11, 2015 19:18:39 GMT -5
I had a very light case of shingles during a tax season. Doctor gave me a topic ointment to stop the itching and pain pills, which I never took.
DS has had them twice so far. She always got sicker with stuff when we were kids and I guess she still does as an adult. She had them as a teenager and again a couple of years ago. She was quite sick both times.
I now have had the shingles vaccine. I am one of the rare people who got an infection at the injection site and had to take antibiotics for that.
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lurkyloo
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Post by lurkyloo on Sept 11, 2015 20:32:00 GMT -5
...:::"They can vary. And some men also think they are dying from a cold.":::... Depends on the cold? My mother thinks there's no need whatsoever for pain medication during labor because "it's natural." Of course, she also was in labor for a total of less than 90 min...if you add up the time for all three of her children. Shingles is variable, and as I understand it it likes to attack nerves directly. Maybe you get lucky and it's not inflaming the pain signaling network. But there are enough horror stories about shingles pain that I think you should give sufferers the benefit of the doubt. (Full disclosure: I was in labor for about 21 hours. Didn't even notice contractions for the first several; then they started to hurt, then I started wondering why the term "contractions" since the damn things never seemed to stop. I am all in favor of people who need pain medication obtaining it and using it responsibly.)
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flamingo
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Post by flamingo on Sept 11, 2015 20:40:20 GMT -5
...:::"My DH had them. Last for like 2 months. He was the biggest baby ever with them! He was on pain meds for 6 of those 8 weeks":::... Come on. I heard a sufferer describe them as "2 months of being hit constantly with hammers". Outbreaks vary in severity, but yes, it CAN be that bad. Short of sitting in a pool of still water at all times, everything hurts. Another sufferer, who had a much milder case was more humiliated by needing herpes meds (because as was said, they are the same treatments) than by the pain. You don't know my DH. He's a baby about anything that could maybe, possibly be described as painful . Seriously, hit us both with a hammer, I'll say Ow that kinda hurts, he'll cry like a baby. People have different levels of pain tolerance; that doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly give him a pass and not call him a big baby Good thing I'm cute and he loves me!
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Sept 12, 2015 13:30:05 GMT -5
Funny, I heard the same thing about chicken pox giving you immunity to shingles. And a nurse friend of mine, who had what she considered a mild case of it (very small rash patches on her head and one ear) was in agony for days.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Sept 12, 2015 14:01:09 GMT -5
Funny, I heard the same thing about chicken pox giving you immunity to shingles. And a nurse friend of mine, who had what she considered a mild case of it (very small rash patches on her head and one ear) was in agony for days. I think the confusion comes from the knowledge that some diseases (especially, some of the childhood diseases) confer immunity once you've recovered. The immunity isn't always foolproof, but you aren't likely to get it again. People tend to apply that to chicken pox as related to shingles even though the opposite is true. You can't get shingles if you haven't had chicken pox. I've had people who, when diagnosed with shingles, insist it can't be shingles because they've never had chicken pox. Yes, they have, they just didn't know they had it. They've either forgotten, or the case was so mild nobody realized what it was. Additionally, if one who hasn't had chicken pox (or the vaccine) comes in contact with the exudate from shingles blisters and contracts the virus, that person will get chicken pox, not shingles. Tricky disease!
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Sept 12, 2015 15:47:28 GMT -5
I'm still trying to get an answer for myself.
I had chicken pox as a child, around 1965ish or so. In 2010, I started my practicum for my PhD and needed proof of immunization. I was lazy and out of time and rather than go to the lab (wayyyy on the other end of the medical center from employee health) and get blood drawn for titers, I just let them immunize me against chicken pox so I could get it on record.
As the virus is the same, I have no idea as to how the adult dose of the chicken pox vaccine is comparable to the shingle vaccine. Immunologically, I should have mounted an anamnestic IgG response to the virus since I had it before so it should be sufficient - I think. But no pharmacist or doctor can tell me definitively.
<fingers are crossed it is sufficent>
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Sept 13, 2015 1:56:31 GMT -5
I don't remember if I had chicken pox but mom always said we all caught everything. I told them that and they gave me the vaccine when I was 60. The shot caused a major hard spot the size of saucer for a month that was red so I know it did something. So far no shingles, dad had them on his neck, mom got the vaccine and no shingles. I got a pneumonia shot too, somethings are just not good to catch.
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