Who is at Risk From Shingles?
Shingles SymptomsA lot of people haven't heard of shingles, and those who have may wonder if they are at risk of getting it or not. The following is a check list of factors that may affect your chances of getting shingles.
1. Have you had chickenpox? If you have, then you are actually much more likely to get shingles. Why? Because shingles is more or less the adult form of chickenpox.
2. If you are over 50, you have a higher chance of getting shingles.
3. If you are suffering from any sort of illness or disease that damages or reduces the effectiveness of your immune system, such as cancer or AIDS, then you have a higher risk of getting shingles as well. Shingles often appears when a person's immune system is weakened.
4. Finally, if you are taking immunosuppressive drugs for any type of medication condition, your immune system will also be weaker and you may get shingles.
Once you have shingles, you may be afraid of passing it on. Is shingles contagious? Fortunately, it is not fully contagious. In fact, shingles is a lot like chickenpox in some regards. If someone has had the chickenpox, then they have the VZV virus (the cause of both shingles and chickenpox) in their system and cannot contract the disease. Shingles is also only contagious when the blisters are oozing clear fluid. Once the blisters have crusted over, the disease is not contagious. Shingles also cannot be passed by coughing, sneezing, or anything other than direct contact.
To keep from infecting others who may not have had the chickenpox, remember that you are contagious from when your blisters develop to when they form crusts, so keep them covered as best you can to keep from spreading the disease.
If you want to learn more about shingles treatment, or indeed find out about the symptoms of shingles, click on one of the links and visit our site for a more in-depth read.