{"id":6951,"date":"2019-11-29T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-29T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=6951"},"modified":"2022-09-26T15:21:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T19:21:55","slug":"shingrix-vaccine-shingles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/shingrix-vaccine-shingles\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Shingrix vaccine\u2014is it worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first, I thought the red marks up and down my arm and hand were just a rash. When they became quite painful and didn\u2019t seem to be going away, I made an appointment with my doctor. I had shingles. I had always thought of shingles as a disease only older adults developed\u2014but I was in my 30s!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was lucky that my outbreak stayed isolated to my arm and hand instead of spreading to my torso or face as it often does; but having shingles was still horrible. I had to keep the rash covered by clothing when in public, which meant walking around with a glove on one hand. It also meant I had to wait several weeks before I could meet my newborn nephew.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take it from my experience, if there\u2019s any way you can avoid shingles, you should. Thankfully, the <\/span>Shingrix vaccine<\/span><\/a> offers over 90% protection against the herpes zoster virus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is shingles?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Shingles and chickenpox are <\/span>caused by the same virus<\/span><\/a>. After you\u2019ve contracted chickenpox and it has run its course, the <\/span>varicella-zoster<\/span><\/a> virus stays dormant in the body for years and can reactivate later in the form of shingles. Shingles is not contagious, but the virus that causes it is. People who are not immune to chickenpox (either from having chickenpox or receiving the chickenpox vaccine) can contract chickenpox from people who have shingles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Symptoms of shingles include:<\/span><\/p>\n