Publication date: 01/11/2022 at 9:59 am
One in four people will get shingles in their lifetime. A very annoying, itchy and painful skin rash. People over the age of 60 or people who have less resistance are especially at risk of getting shingles. You can protect yourself with a shingles vaccination.
What is shingles?
Shingles is an itchy, painful, blistered skin rash that is caused by the revival of the chickenpox virus.
Shingles starts with itching, tingling, or a severe burning or stabbing pain. After a few days, blisters appear in groups on the body, usually around the abdomen or waist. After 10 to 14 days, the blisters dry up into scabs. Sometimes shingles can cause serious complications (eg inflammation of the facial nerve). After the symptoms have disappeared, a person may experience (nerve) pain and tingling in the affected area.
Shingles is contagious
A person can get shingles if they have had chickenpox before. Then some of the virus will always remain in the body. If the immune system is less, the virus can become active again. Then someone can get shingles. With shingles, the virus is only present in the fluid of the blisters. The fluid from the blisters is contagious for 1 to 2 weeks. The scabs are no longer contagious.
You can get vaccinated against shingles. From November 2022 you can go to GGD Brabant-Zuidoost on location De Callenburgh in Helmond for the vaccination against shingles. This vaccination is not free.
Did you know…
- 1 in 4 people will get shingles in their lifetime
- A lowered resistance due to illness and/or medication increases the risk of getting shingles
- 88,000 people visit their GP every year because of shingles
- 5-30% of people have long-term pain (nerve pain) where shingles occurred
- You must have had chickenpox to get shingles
- About 95% of adults in the Netherlands experienced chickenpox as a child
- By age 85, about 1 in 2 people will have experienced shingles.
Make an appointment for the shingles vaccination
For this vaccination, for a fee, you can make an appointment by telephone. Call 088 0031 500.