Nearly all adults aged 50 years and older in the US are infected with the virus that causes shingles.1 After chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus can reactivate years later, causing shingles.2
Shingles doesn’t play favorites. Anyone over the age of 50 – even if you’re a healthy, active person – may be at-risk. As a person ages, the immune system is impacted in such a way that the body is less capable of preventing the virus from re-activating and causing shingles.5
Vaccination will help reduce the risk of developing shingles and complications caused by the disease.3
Learn more by downloading the fact sheet here. Talk to your doctor about vaccination against shingles if you’re 50 or older.
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“Rightly or wrongly, I believed shingles to be an older person disease. I didn’t know anyone, in my age range that had shingles previously.”
– Steve
Dad, entrepreneur and former shingles patient
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“Shingles felt like fire ants inside my legs. This didn’t just impact me. My family had to step up and help manage our responsibilities.”
– Jackie
Public Relations professional, activist and former shingles patient
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“While I had shingles, I joined a support group on Facebook to find ways to help manage the discomfort. I’ve learned that after reading about my experience on Facebook, six of my friends have been vaccinated.”
– Caroline
Mother, dental hygienist, humanitarian and former shingles patient
“Completed races, beat records, but the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with was my battle with shingles.”
– Jon
Rock music enthusiast, avid runner and former shingles patient
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“The disappointment that I knew nothing about this preventable disease hit me head-on only when I was personally dealing with the painful symptoms of shingles.”
– Alice
Journalist, musician, songwriter and former shingles patient
“I thought it could be a bad case of acne or even a spider bite, which I tend to be allergic to.”
– Kathlyn
Realtor, interior designer and former shingles patient
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by the reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox. 3
Shingles is not an old person’s disease. Adults as young as 50 years old are considered at-risk for shingles.
Approximately one in three people in the US will develop shingles in their lifetime.1 This risk increases to one in two for adults aged 85 years and older.4
Anyone 50 years or older – even if you’re a healthy, active person – may be at-risk for shingles.
As a person ages, the immune system is impacted in such a way that the body is less capable of preventing the virus from re-activating and causing shingles.5
Shingles pain can last 2 to 4 weeks7
Shingles typically presents as a painful, itchy rash that develops on one side of the body and can last for two to four weeks.6
Even once the rash is gone, a person can experience postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), pain lasting from at a few months up to several years.7 PHN is the most common complication of shingles, occurring in 10 to 18 percent of all shingles cases.1
Other complications of shingles include scarring, vision complications, secondary infection and nerve palsies.8
Although shingles and chickenpox are caused by the same virus, they are not the same illness.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by the reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox.3 Chickenpox is usually a milder illness that affects children. Shingles results from a reactivation of the virus long after the chickenpox illness has disappeared.
Vaccination will help reduce the risk of developing shingles and complications caused by the disease.3
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of the vaccine, two to six months apart, to help prevent shingles and related complications.
If you’re 50 years of age or older, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the vaccine.
CDC. Vaccines and Preventable Diseases. Shingles Vaccination. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Shingles typically presents as a painful, itchy rash that develops on one side of the body and can last for two to four weeks.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Approximately one in three people in the US will develop shingles in their lifetime.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Shingles Doesn’t Play Favorites is sponsored by GSK.
Contact Information
Sean Clements
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +1 215 740 3088
