Is there a vaccine for shingles?

Answer 1

shingles are really a recurrent infection of chicken pox, so if you had chicken pox as a kid then the virus is already inside you waiting for your immune system to weaken to develop into shingles (usually not till your older) but there is a vaccine for chicken pox now but it only is effective if you've never had chicken pox

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

YES. My husband's grandma had shingles last year. Since she is older, they lasted for 10 months! Poor woman was in SO much pain (as Shingles attack your nervous system). Her doctor told her that a vaccination for Shingles would be released in January (this month). He recommended she get it because anyone who has had Shingles can get it again. It is a virus that is always present in your body, and can be triggered by stress, etc... causing the outbreak. My husband's grandma said the vax is $150, but well worth every penny!
You should double-check the availability & cost with your doctor. Maybe certain insurance companies cover the expenses of the vax.

Answer 5

Yesthere ia a vaccine for shingles. it came out in 2006, is recommended for people over 60 , and is effective about 50% of the time. See web site below for all into.

Answer 6

short answer, no.
but. shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. so in theory at least, if you have never had chicken pox and recieve the vaccine for it, you should be protected (more or less) from shingles.
anitbiotics will do nothing to help w/shingles as they are caused by a virus, not a bacteria.

here is more info:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/shingles.htm
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2001/301_pox.html
http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/shingles.html
http://familydoctor.org/574.xml

Answer 7

Herpes zoster is infection that results when varicella-zoster virus reactivates from its latent state in a posterior dorsal root ganglion. Symptoms usually begin with pain along the affected dermatome, followed in 2 to 3 days by a vesicular eruption that is usually diagnostic. Treatment is antiviral drugs and possibly corticosteroids given within 72 h after skin lesions appear.(Merck)
Avoid contact with the skin lesions of persons with known herpes zoster infection (shingles or chickenpox) if you have never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine. This is especially true if your immune system is compromised.
The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine is a recommended childhood vaccine. The vaccine may be recommended for teenagers or adults who have never had chickenpox. A recent large trial showed a significant reduction in the complications of shingles and incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia in older adults who received the vaccine. Therefore, elderly adults (older than 60 years) should receive the vaccine as part of routine medical care. (MedlinePlus)
Prevention involves preventing primary infection (chickenpox) by use of the varicella vaccine in children and susceptible adults. In a large study, use of a more potent vaccine to boost the immune response in elderly patients who previously had chickenpox was recently shown to decrease the incidence of zoster.(Merck)
Please see the web pages for more details on Herpes Zoster (Shingles).

Answer 8

Shingles is a form of a herpies virus. No there is no vaccine, but there are topical ointments to use.

Answer 9

If you get treated within 24 hrs of the symptoms (redness/very sore) then YES there is an antibiotic they give you. If it's after 24hrs, unfortunately you have to suffer through it..and it is VErY very painful*
GOODLUCK*

Answer 10

go to webmd.com and search shingles.