United States: Those who are 50 years old and over are advised to help their body build its resistance as much as possible to prevent the formation of shingles.
Regardless, as the experts recommend, if one has received a fine treatment for chicken pox and has enjoyed a good recovery, he could, later in life, develop shingles and even more complications.
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Dr. Eavan Daly, Country Medical Director with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Ireland, says that shingles are contracted through the resurgence of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV).
“This virus lies dormant in the nerves of a person who has previously had chicken pox, which is 98 percent of people,” Daly stated.
This virus remains in our bodies for our lives and does not normally present problems but can reactivate – most often when we age.
Furthermore, “Those aged over 50 have an increased risk of reactivation, and that risk keeps increasing with age,” Daly added, as reported by rsvplive.
Risk factors for developing Shingles
The results showed that the risk increases with a number of other factors other than age, such as possibly being single.
They include individuals who have a compromised immune system.
“This could be people with a certain health condition or people who are taking medication for a certain condition, for example, immunotherapy drugs for treating cancer,” Daly added.
When it comes to symptoms, shingles manifest through a rash on the skin. The rash will develop quite soon after this first stage, and it favors the trunk or abdomen, and it will often be unilateral, encircling a person’s body.
“When shingles are detected early, there is a much greater chance that the medication a GP can prescribe will alter the course of the condition. Treatments can reduce the severity and length of shingles,” Daly continued.

A rash may also develop on the head and face; for example, there is a nerve from the head right down the face.
Creams with topical steroids are effective in the management of the itch, which also hastens the healing of the rash.
While most of the infected individuals say that the symptoms clear up in four to six weeks, changes commence as early as ten days into the disease when blisters begin to heal and fade, as reported by Rsvplive.
Yet, after the shingles rash, a person may experience post-herpetic neuralgia – a severe nerve pain that lasts for weeks or sometimes months and, in rare cases, years.
Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) develops in approximately one-fifth of all cases of shingles, with people aged 50 or older at the highest risk.