Shingles - Worth the vaccination?

[harryviking]

23 hours ago, Korat88 said:

A US friend living in Thailand mentioned that he is thinking about getting vaccinated against the condition. Test from the link below states "Prevention

Is a vaccine available to prevent shingles?

Two vaccines are available in the United States to reduce your chance of developing shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. One vaccine, Zostavax®, has been available since 2006. The second vaccine, Shingrix®, has been available since 2017. Shingrix is recommended as the preferred vaccine by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical and public health experts.

Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) is given as a two-dose shot in your upper arm. You should receive the second dose (shot) two to six months after receiving the first. Shingrix has been shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. Its effectiveness remains above 85% for at least four years after receiving the vaccine.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11036-shingles

 

Is this something that should seriously be considered (we are both over 50, and I am interested in knowing too), or not really much of a concern in Thailand? I don't think it is anything to do with where one lives in the world, but curious on the feedback from those who may have had the condition or the vaccine. Thank you.

 

 

 

After being a regular in Thailand for 35 years, I have never even heard about "shingles" at all. Let us hear if anyone have.  

[LarryLEB]

I had the Shingrix vaccine done at Jomtien Hospital.  I paid 13,490 Baht.  That was the price in December 2023.

[Letseng]

22 hours ago, proton said:

where is the cheapest place to get it? I think  had an email from Bumrungrad pushing it and it was about 1600 baht. Had shingles twice.

There 2 diff. vaccines. Shingrix is 2 shots & more effective, higher cost. 

Old one, Zostavax, is 1 shot, less effective. I doubt it is still used. We paid about 1600 THB I think. Look at hospital websites for diff. prices. Try Thai RC.

[proton]

28 minutes ago, Letseng said:

There 2 diff. vaccines. Shingrix is 2 shots & more effective, higher cost. 

Old one, Zostavax, is 1 shot, less effective. I doubt it is still used. We paid about 1600 THB I think. Look at hospital websites for diff. prices. Try Thai RC.

 

Waiting to go home, free on the NHS

[ross163103]

As others have said, I also had a friend that contracted shingles, I asked him if the vaccine was worth it, his reply, "Worth every penny, get it." He described the pain as having your nerves on fire, not really something I'd like to experience.

[retarius]

23 hours ago, zakalwe said:

I got the vaccine because I heard from someone that got shingles that the pain was so bad that he begged doctors for opioids. 

 

I do not like pain.

I just had it on my face. I have to say I have heard the pain story but don't believe it. Mine was slightly uncomfortable and quite itchy, but certainly not painful needing opioids. Mine hasn't quite gone away yet....wiki says it takes 3-5 weeks. I got a mild neuropathic pain in my cheek for a while but that has gone away. The scariest thing was it started on my chin then moved up the side of my face and looked as though it was going in my eye, wiki says if it goes in your optic nerve it is very painful. Maybe that was why your mate was begging for opioids. I didn't even go to the doctor because they can give you is acyclovir or Famvir and you can buy that yourself.

I had it before about 25 years ago, and went to a dermatologist in America. I thought it was some sort of sweat rash but he pronounced shingles, and again not painful, but a bit uncomfortable like a sweat rash. I was under 50 and the US guidelines at the time said you had to have an HIV test because having shingles implies a low functioning immune system. And yes the HIV test came back negative. 

Edited September 17 by retarius

[JackGats]

Definitely worth it. Nasty disease. Some people never completely recover.

[ThaiFelix]

A mate of mine had shingles a  few months back and from what he said about the pain and ignorance of the local 'doctor' , it sounds something worth investigating.

[DrPhibes]

Head back to the US in Jan - April so will get the two Shingrix shots for free under Medicare.  My mom had it, was crazy bad for her.

[jesimps]

I had it many years ago in England and it was agony. I've lived in Thailand for seventeen and a half years and it's never returned. Hopefully just a once in a lifetime experience.

[GordonP]

My mother contracted Shingles aged 81 and it has really made her life miserable. It impacted her eyesight and she has suffered constant pain everywhere since.

As soon as I am eligible I will get the vaccination.

[nahkit]

3 hours ago, proton said:

 

Waiting to go home, free on the NHS

Depends on your age, I've got another year before I am eligible.

[nahkit]

I first had shingles around 10 years ago, I didn't know what it was at the time so I went to a private hospital in Khonkaen where a young lady doctor took one look at the rash and said "I know what that is, it's Herpes Zoster".

 

All I heard was the "Herpes" part and all pain from the shingles disappeared as I thought about the prospect of having herpes. Meanwhile, the doctor was chatting away with my wife, so I interrupted her and asked her to say it again. No change, it's Herpes Zoster, so at that point I engage Mr Google and see that it's actually shingles.

 

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or slap the doctor for telling me I had herpes.

 

Really severe pain for just over a week and then another 4 weeks for it to clear up, since then I have had it two more times but never as bad as the first one.

 

The rash had started at my groin and then travelled around to my back. According to my wife, the wise people of the village called it "moo sawat" and said that if the rash made a complete circle around my waist I would drop dead. 

 

Not sure if that was just wishful thinking on her part.

 

   

[Sheryl]

5 hours ago, pelagicpete said:

So, am I right in thinking that there is a benefit to having the Shingrix shots even if you have shingles over several years?

will it help?

It is possible to get shingles more than once so yes, people who have had shingles before should  get the vaccine. 

[Evil Penevil]

On 9/16/2024 at 4:36 AM, zakalwe said:

I got the vaccine because I heard from someone that got shingles that the pain was so bad that he begged doctors for opioids. 

 

 

I had shingles and it was the worst pain I've experienced other than a traumatic injury.  If you don't have access to heavy-duty painkillers,  it will drive you insane.  Get the vaccination!

[ukrules]

 

3 hours ago, retarius said:

I just had it on my face. I have to say I have heard the pain story but don't believe it.

 

The truth will not be decided based on the experiences of one person who had a mild case.

Some people have it so mild it is not detectable without blood tests, others have it so bad that they want the nerves physically removing from their body. What you believe is irrelevant.
 

Also you're lucky because what you had can maim your face through paralysis and blind you in some cases.

[ukrules]

3 hours ago, jesimps said:

I had it many years ago in England and it was agony. I've lived in Thailand for seventeen and a half years and it's never returned. Hopefully just a once in a lifetime experience.

 

I had it about 25 years ago, it was mild. Had it again and it was a bit worse, on the head the second time.

Then I had it again and it was much worse but not in any way agony. In fact it would be described as constantly irritating

Strong painkillers are not the best approach with this as it's a faulty nerve signal, Pregabalin is the treatment.

 

[fceligoj]

Get the vaccination.  My ex-father-in-law had them and it was hell (as he put it.)

[Lorry]

4 hours ago, nahkit said:

I first had shingles around 10 years ago, I didn't know what it was at the time so I went to a private hospital in Khonkaen where a young lady doctor took one look at the rash and said "I know what that is, it's Herpes Zoster".

 

All I heard was the "Herpes" part and all pain from the shingles disappeared as I thought about the prospect of having herpes. Meanwhile, the doctor was chatting away with my wife, so I interrupted her and asked her to say it again. No change, it's Herpes Zoster, so at that point I engage Mr Google and see that it's actually shingles.

 

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or slap the doctor for telling me I had herpes.

 

Really severe pain for just over a week and then another 4 weeks for it to clear up, since then I have had it two more times but never as bad as the first one.

 

The rash had started at my groin and then travelled around to my back. According to my wife, the wise people of the village called it "moo sawat" and said that if the rash made a complete circle around my waist I would drop dead. 

 

Not sure if that was just wishful thinking on her part.

 

   

Herpes Zoster is the usual name all over the world. 

Only native speakers of English say "shingles" in colloquial speech (doctors would say herpes zoster)

Could it be your Thai doctor was not a native speaker of English?

[Lorry]

5 hours ago, GordonP said:

mother contracted Shingles

You cannot contract shingles.

If you ever had chickenpox (in your mother's generation,  almost everybody), the virus will sleep in your body forever and can get activated (for many reasons) to cause shingles decades later.

[MarkBR]

20 hours ago, harryviking said:

After being a regular in Thailand for 35 years, I have never even heard about "shingles" at all. Let us hear if anyone have.  

Look it up, it is a horrible disease.  If you have had chickenpox as a child it will be latent in your body and if it activates later in life it can be horribly painful.  Some people have bad symptoms continuing for a long time afterwards.  Vaccination is worth it.

Edited September 18 by MarkBR
typographic errors

[patman30]

21 hours ago, harryviking said:

After being a regular in Thailand for 35 years, I have never even heard about "shingles" at all. Let us hear if anyone have.  

i had shingles about 30 years ago
(yes the pain/irritation is bad)
by the time the doctor got meds for me, i was already on the road to recovery after 3 weeks
since then up until recently i have never heard of anyone else getting shingles
but now in the past few years it seems apparently to be very common and a concern for everyone.......

[nahkit]

12 hours ago, Lorry said:

Herpes Zoster is the usual name all over the world. 

Only native speakers of English say "shingles" in colloquial speech (doctors would say herpes zoster)

Could it be your Thai doctor was not a native speaker of English?

Yes, I know that Herpes Zoster is the correct name for shingles, did you miss the part in my post where I said I looked it up? The point was about my thinking I had Herpes, it wasn't about the doctor's mastery or not of English.

 

[MartyJG]

got the Shingrix in US 3 years ago, good vaccine. side effects no big deal

[Letseng]

23 hours ago, retarius said:

I just had it on my face. I have to say I have heard the pain story but don't believe it. Mine was slightly uncomfortable and quite itchy, but certainly not painful needing opioids. Mine hasn't quite gone away yet....wiki says it takes 3-5 weeks. I got a mild neuropathic pain in my cheek for a while but that has gone away. The scariest thing was it started on my chin then moved up the side of my face and looked as though it was going in my eye, wiki says if it goes in your optic nerve it is very painful. Maybe that was why your mate was begging for opioids. I didn't even go to the doctor because they can give you is acyclovir or Famvir and you can buy that yourself.

I had it before about 25 years ago, and went to a dermatologist in America. I thought it was some sort of sweat rash but he pronounced shingles, and again not painful, but a bit uncomfortable like a sweat rash. I was under 50 and the US guidelines at the time said you had to have an HIV test because having shingles implies a low functioning immune system. And yes the HIV test came back negative. 

Many ppl suffer badly & over a long period. Some never become pain free. Your experience doesn't apply to most ppl I know who had shingles.

[SunsetT]

On 9/16/2024 at 9:10 AM, Korat88 said:

A US friend living in Thailand mentioned that he is thinking about getting vaccinated against the condition. Test from the link below states "Prevention

Is a vaccine available to prevent shingles?

Two vaccines are available in the United States to reduce your chance of developing shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. One vaccine, Zostavax®, has been available since 2006. The second vaccine, Shingrix®, has been available since 2017. Shingrix is recommended as the preferred vaccine by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical and public health experts.

Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) is given as a two-dose shot in your upper arm. You should receive the second dose (shot) two to six months after receiving the first. Shingrix has been shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. Its effectiveness remains above 85% for at least four years after receiving the vaccine.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11036-shingles

 

Is this something that should seriously be considered (we are both over 50, and I am interested in knowing too), or not really much of a concern in Thailand? I don't think it is anything to do with where one lives in the world, but curious on the feedback from those who may have had the condition or the vaccine. Thank. you.

 

 

 

I had it 18 months ago with the vaccine offered to over 70s in the UK just after I left for Thailand! It is not nice and had a lingering post herpetic neuralgia. Nerve pain which was worse than the rash. I recently discovered that research shows that after shingles there is a 30% increase in risk of heart attack.  So it is definitely a good idea to get it. I have since had the 1st vaccine dose  and will have the second this week. 

[GarryP]

On 9/17/2024 at 6:37 PM, nahkit said:

I first had shingles around 10 years ago, I didn't know what it was at the time so I went to a private hospital in Khonkaen where a young lady doctor took one look at the rash and said "I know what that is, it's Herpes Zoster".

 

All I heard was the "Herpes" part and all pain from the shingles disappeared as I thought about the prospect of having herpes. Meanwhile, the doctor was chatting away with my wife, so I interrupted her and asked her to say it again. No change, it's Herpes Zoster, so at that point I engage Mr Google and see that it's actually shingles.

 

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or slap the doctor for telling me I had herpes.

 

Really severe pain for just over a week and then another 4 weeks for it to clear up, since then I have had it two more times but never as bad as the first one.

 

The rash had started at my groin and then travelled around to my back. According to my wife, the wise people of the village called it "moo sawat" and said that if the rash made a complete circle around my waist I would drop dead. 

 

Not sure if that was just wishful thinking on her part.

 

   

Many, many years ago my late wife got shingles around her waist (called ngu sawat in Thai), and people said the same thing, ie. if the rash completed the circle around her waist she would die. It didn't and she didn't. 

[Amethyst]

A post with unsourced and unsubstantiated conspiracy claims has been removed.

 

[DualSportBiker]

On 9/16/2024 at 3:51 PM, proton said:

where is the cheapest place to get it? I think  had an email from Bumrungrad pushing it and it was about 1600 baht. Had shingles twice.

Srisavarindhira Thai Red Cross Institute of Nursing on Rama 4/Henri Dunant.

[Photoguy21]

If you are from the USA then probably yes as Americans tend to be paranoid about everything.