by Tammy Sandeen

Created on: January 04, 2010   Last Updated: January 06, 2010

When wondering if you should get the shingles vaccine, you should consider a few points then talk to your doctor. The very first thing to think about is if you had chickenpox or its vaccine. If you answer no, then in most cases you shouldn't have to worry about shingles. Shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus known as Varicella Zostervirus, which can stay in your body for years.

You can not catch Shingles from another person. But if you haven't had the chickenpox, and are around someone who has shingles, you may get chickenpox. It is a very little percentage of cases that this happens to. If you are someone who works around the sick who may have shingles or with older people, it could be a good idea to talk with your doctor about the chickenpox vaccine. Shingles is most common in people over 50 and with a weakened immune system.

The vaccine only prevents shingles about half the time but it reduces the symptoms in those who still get it after receiving the vaccine. The pain is less, which is never a bad thing. It also seems to reduce the length of time the patient suffers from the illness and symptoms. Some things associated with Shingles is a painful rash, blistering, headache, weakness, and fever. Rarely but often enough to mention, this illness has cause pneumonia, blindness, and death. It can be very serious. You will want to consider your risk level of getting shingles when talking to your health care provider.

The CDC recommends a single dose of the Shingles vaccine for anyone 60 years old and up. They also recommend that you don't get it if you have had an allergic reaction to any of the components of the vaccine. Talk to your doctor about your allergies when considering if you should be vaccinated. It could be more dangerous to get it then not if you have a weakened immune system from AIDS, Chemotherapy treatments, radiation therapies or high dose steroids.

Pregnant women should never get this vaccine. If a woman gets the vaccine she should wait at least 4 weeks before becoming pregnant. And this is not a vaccine meant for children. With all vaccines, you should wait to get it if you have a fever over a 101 degrees F.

As with most things in life, the vaccine has risks. Severe reactions are very rare. There really aren't any as long as you aren't allergic to any of the things that make up the vaccine. As suggested earlier, check with your doctor if you are known to have severe allergies.

A severe reaction will usually show up with in the first hour after receiving the shot. The site of the injection may swell and turn red. Look for fever, shortness of breath, hives, and the other expected signs that you are allergic. If any of these happen then call  your doctor. right away. A mild reaction can be things like a headache, mild red color and soreness around the injection site.

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