At 44, I got shingles this past Easter - in my head/eye. The worst headache I’ve had in my entire life. Wanted to blow my brains out by day 2, assumed I had an aggressive brain tumor which would kill me in days. No doctors could figure out what was happening... and then the rash appeared on day 4. Mystery solved.
At 44, I got shingles this past Easter - in my head/eye. The worst headache I’ve had in my entire life. Wanted to blow my brains out by day 2, assumed I had an aggressive brain tumor which would kill me in days. No doctors could figure out what was happening... and then the rash appeared on day 4. Mystery solved.
What was interesting- and I don’t know if just BS, was my ophthalmologist suggested the varicella vaccine was responsible for so many young healthy people now getting shingles.
He said when he was in med school decades ago, a young person getting shingles was practically unheard of. But now that adults aren’t constantly exposed to children with chicken pox anymore, they aren’t getting naturally boosted.
Wonder if true? 3 more friends all in 30’s and 40’s also got shingles within the month I did.
I will tell you in the 90's when varicella vaccine was rolling out, Infectious disease experts at academic institutions were quite certain that we would see more shingles and in younger ages. When Varicella was circulating in the community, the exposure kept the virus dormant. Only older and/ or stress/ immune compromised would reactivate. This was not a theory. It was predicted and understood to be the consequence of universal varicella vaccination. And the reason we were putting Varicella into the childhood immunization schedule was to save money. We had mostly 2 parent working families, and it cost too much money (for businesses) or parents would lose money (if no paid time off) if 2-3 kids were home for 5+ days each with chicken pox. Chicken pox was thought to be one of beneficial childhood diseases in pediatrics. The vaccine could have been given just to those who had not got chicken pox before puberty.
I got it at 35, V3 type distribution (my lower jaw up to the edge of my ear canal). The stress I was under was extreme and sustained, but I didn't believe the diagnosis at first. I'm not old enough, I said.
I had zero stress. Was on vacation enjoying life. BAM. Was certain I was dying of stroke or hemorrhage. But then I kept living... assumed must be aggressive tumor. So incredibly weird.
Yes. This is true. Great Britain even considered not recommending it to kids because it would cause an increase in shingles in the elderly, but they did anyways.
Thanks for posting that! I looked into it maybe 10+ years ago and at the time thought that they had gone ahead and pushed for mass vaccination of kids. I'm glad they've backed off of that.
Interesting question. I got chickenpox in my 20’s from my son who brought it home in kindergarten. That was in California long before the vaccine was created. I’ve never been so sick as that (covid was nothing in comparison) but in my titre remains sky-high to this day. I’ll never take the shingles vaccine.
At 44, I got shingles this past Easter - in my head/eye. The worst headache I’ve had in my entire life. Wanted to blow my brains out by day 2, assumed I had an aggressive brain tumor which would kill me in days. No doctors could figure out what was happening... and then the rash appeared on day 4. Mystery solved.
What was interesting- and I don’t know if just BS, was my ophthalmologist suggested the varicella vaccine was responsible for so many young healthy people now getting shingles.
He said when he was in med school decades ago, a young person getting shingles was practically unheard of. But now that adults aren’t constantly exposed to children with chicken pox anymore, they aren’t getting naturally boosted.
Wonder if true? 3 more friends all in 30’s and 40’s also got shingles within the month I did.
I will tell you in the 90's when varicella vaccine was rolling out, Infectious disease experts at academic institutions were quite certain that we would see more shingles and in younger ages. When Varicella was circulating in the community, the exposure kept the virus dormant. Only older and/ or stress/ immune compromised would reactivate. This was not a theory. It was predicted and understood to be the consequence of universal varicella vaccination. And the reason we were putting Varicella into the childhood immunization schedule was to save money. We had mostly 2 parent working families, and it cost too much money (for businesses) or parents would lose money (if no paid time off) if 2-3 kids were home for 5+ days each with chicken pox. Chicken pox was thought to be one of beneficial childhood diseases in pediatrics. The vaccine could have been given just to those who had not got chicken pox before puberty.
The vaccine could have been give to those who did not get it by the time they hit puberty, after which there are more complications.
I got it at 35, V3 type distribution (my lower jaw up to the edge of my ear canal). The stress I was under was extreme and sustained, but I didn't believe the diagnosis at first. I'm not old enough, I said.
I had zero stress. Was on vacation enjoying life. BAM. Was certain I was dying of stroke or hemorrhage. But then I kept living... assumed must be aggressive tumor. So incredibly weird.
Yes. This is true. Great Britain even considered not recommending it to kids because it would cause an increase in shingles in the elderly, but they did anyways.
If any chance you could toss a source on that would be fascinating to read about.
EDIT
Found it!
https://patient.info/news-and-features/should-your-child-have-the-chickenpox-vaccine
This is 2019
Thanks for posting that! I looked into it maybe 10+ years ago and at the time thought that they had gone ahead and pushed for mass vaccination of kids. I'm glad they've backed off of that.
It is likely true imo. Many smart people warned of it before the vaccines were approved
Interesting question. I got chickenpox in my 20’s from my son who brought it home in kindergarten. That was in California long before the vaccine was created. I’ve never been so sick as that (covid was nothing in comparison) but in my titre remains sky-high to this day. I’ll never take the shingles vaccine.