Dear Doc, in past postings you have not shown enthusiasm for the Singles vaccination. What do you make of the Centers for Control Disease endorsement? Ron

Hi Ron, thanks for the interesting question. It is an interesting thing since even with the vaccine your risk is only halved. I suspect that the CDC was pressured by pharmaceutical industry.

It is a different situation than with other vaccines. With Shingles, you already have the causative agent in your body, with 99% of people over 40 having had chicken pox infection caused by the varicella/zoster virus. The virus retreats back to your nerve terminals and lays in wait, to attack a weakened body many decades later. At times of cancer, aids, pneumonia,or even just advancing age, the virus migrates down the nerve terminal and gives you shingles along one nerve pathway or several pathways,causing lines of painful blisters.

Once you have had shingles there is low likelihood of repeat blistering although pain in the nerve distribution may remain after infection, post-herpetic neuralgia. Zoster is a nasty infection that can last a month and vaccine can reduce the pain by 66%. There has been no proof of reduction in recurrent outbreaks with the vaccine. It also is not know if it works more than three years to reduce the occurrence of Shingles.

So you already have the virus on board and the vaccine may increase your immune competence to halve your risk. Diet, antioxidants, exercise, and being in a pleasurable flow state, creative activity , or even sex, can also improve your immune status.

As they say, check with your own doctor in your own situation. In a state of generalized body decompensation where risk is high and there has never been an attack of shingles, it will halve that risk. The vaccine also doesn't prevent infection from genital herpes. -Ellar MD