FAIRMONT —
Dawn and Chuck McClain have a friend whose case of shingles — which causes a painful rash — kept him inside and in pain for months.
“He ended up being locked up in the house,” Chuck McClain said. “It was extremely painful. He couldn’t get out because of the discomfort.”
In addition to shingles, a condition caused by the varicella zoster — the same virus that causes the chickenpox — the friend suffered from a side effect known as post-herpetic neuralgia, a pain that lingers with the patient, sometimes for months, even after the rash has disappeared.
Therefore, when Dr. Peter Ang recently suggested they each get a vaccine called Zostavax to prevent shingles, they took him up on the offer.
“If you can avoid something like that, you should,” Dawn McClain said.
Zostavax was approved by the Food & Drug Administration in May 2006 for anybody 50 years old and older. Five months later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) recommended the vaccine for individuals 60 years and older.
Local News
Shingles vaccine recommended for people over 60
Aging is ‘the No. 1 risk factor’ for condition that is caused by same virus that causes chickenpox
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Two ejected in Route 250 accident
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Deputy Erdie of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department said the vehicle was traveling south on U.S. 250 when the driver lost control at about 1:30 p.m. - More Local News Headlines
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