A few days ago I overheard an elderly man discussing a medical condition with his daughter-in-law. He said that his younger brother contracted “shingles” as a child and almost died. He said that the “shingles” were within 3 inches of meeting. He said that if the “shingles” meet the patient is sure to die. I decided to conduct my own research to see if the elderly man knew what he was talking about or was he  just passing on to his daughter-in-law an old wives tale. 

My research revealed that Shingles is the resurrected chickenpox virus. The virus lies low in the nerve cells after a person suffers with chickenpox during childhood. It is kept in check by the immune system. When a person becomes older he is at a greater risk of contracting “Shingles”. 

Ninety percent of adults have had chickenpox and are at risk of developing shingles. When the immune system is weakened the virus will become active again and cause shingles. Approximately half of the nearly one million cases of shingles in the United States occur in people aged 60 and over. One out of two people living to age eighty-five will have shingles. The older you get the longer the shingles rash can last. 

Shingles, also called herpes zoster can start at anytime, without warning. Symptoms can include: itching, burning and tingling. A rash of fluid-filled blisters appears, usually on one side of the body or face. The rash is in a band that encircles half the body. It never does meet. There is no authority that confirms if the rash meets the person dies. This is true because the rash has never met. It is simply an old wives tale. 

If you are worried about contracting shingles then I suggest you contact your physician and get vaccinated. Adults sixty years and older can receive a single dose of the shingles vaccine, called Zostavax. 

In the words of my dad, “If these gas prices get any higher I am going to buy me a horse!”