SHINGLES!!! How do I keep from catching them!?!?!?!
Question: OK, a second person at my work (a regular office, not anything medical) has been diagnozed with shingles!!! I don't want to be next! What are good preventative measures?!?!
Answers: OK, a second person at my work (a regular office, not anything medical) has been diagnozed with shingles!!! I don't want to be next! What are good preventative measures?!?!
Shingles is not contagious. SHINGLES IS NOT CONTAGIOUS (you can't get shingles from a person with shingles). BUT, if you have never had the chicken pox, you should avoid a person with active shingles because you could then get chicken pox.
Shingles is the 'awakening' of the latent chicken pox virus. So, if you have never had chicken pox and/or have never been vaccinated, you won't develop shingles.
They are JUST starting long term studies on whether the new shingles vaccine actually prevents shingles in older adults. Personally, I would not get this vaccine. Too many times we have learned later that a med or a vaccine actually creates another problem while attempting to solve one.
Keep yourself rested and healthy. Eat well. Avoid excess stress. Sleep. Research shows shingles is an opportunistic illness that takes advantage of a body whose immune system is compromised.
Try taking 500 mgs L-Lysine daily (an amino acid). Tell this to your workmates you have shingles, too. They should take 1000 mgs/day. Vitamin C, too. Your workmates should avoid foods containing the amino acid arginine, since studies show it can actually aggravate the herpes zoster virus and prolong shingles. Some of those foods are chocolate, nuts, soya beans, carob and oats.
It is not true that kids vaccinated against chicken pox will not develop shingles. My nephew and several other kids I know have gotten shingles after getting the chicken pox vaccine. This is not good. I also think vaccines might be part of the reason why adults are getting shingles at a younger age and higher rate: they aren't being re-exposed to chicken pox from their kids because we are vaccinating them... and re-exposure to the virus will 'reboost' immunity.
Probably more information than you are looking for... but this is a hot button for me.
Keep away from them. It's highly contagious.
Shingles is a recurrence of the (mostly) childhood infection- chicken pox. Anyone who has ever had chicken pox can develop shingles. This usually happens at times of physical weakness, such as recovering from the flu, being very stressed etc.
The best advice i can give is to avoid those people, eat healthy and avoid over exerting yourself. This is no garuntee but worrying about getting shingles, from sods law, you're most likely to get it!
Zini is right. I had chicken pox a couple of years ago and I must say it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I asked the doctor how I got it and he said that everyone carries the virus. He told me that if it comes back it comes in the form of shingles. He said it wasn't contracted from someone, most likely. It manifested from low immunity and stress. At the time I was under a tremendous amount of stress. I was performing in 2 plays at once and on tour. I was getting very little sleep and that was back when I was drinking alcohol a lot. The doctor's advice was the same as what zini said. Eat healthy, get plenty of rest....in other words, do what you have to do in order to keep your immunity up. I don't think a whole lot of people get shingles...I mean, people get it, but I don't think it's like widespread and frequent. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you worry about it a lot it might actually happen...so don't worry...be happy!
Have a nice, stress free day!
Good Day!
Prevention
Prevention involves the proper handling, storage, and preparation of food, in addition to good cleanliness. Hand washing is the most effective preventive measure. Avoid contaminated food and water.
http://healthabcpedia.net/shigella-enter...
SHINGLES!!! is just chicken pox... again. See, the chicken pox virus lives in your spinal fluid after you have it and at any time can "break out" and when it does, it follows a nerve. When I had my outbreak, it followed a nerve on my upper back and down my right arm. When my dad has his, it followed across his lower back and across his belly. Since mine didn't go over internal organs it was more itchy and inconvienient than anything, but my dad (who is also obviously older than me) had some pretty serious stomach problems associated with his.
If you have had chicken pox, you're safe. If not, just like chicken pox, don't touch open sores (that's the contagious part) and don't follow people around that have them. Wash your hands alot and take Vitamin C.
As early as 1909 a German scientist suspected that the viruses causing chickenpox and shingles were one and the same. In the 1920's and 1930's the case was strengthened. In an experiment, children were inoculated with fluid from the lesions of patients with shingles. Within 2 weeks about half the children came down with chickenpox. Finally in 1958 detailed analyses of the viruses taken from patients with either chickenpox or shingles confirmed that the viruses were identical.
This study also proved that a person with shingles can pass the virus to individuals who have never had chickenpox, but these individuals will develop chickenpox not shingles. A person with chickenpox cannot communicate shingles to someone else. In order for people to develop shingles they must already harbor the virus in their nervous system, and for those who do harbor the virus, having contact with someone with chickenpox will not trigger shingles. Additionally, a person with shingles cannot communicate shingles to another individual.
I just read on Yahoo the other day that they have a vaccine now.
Lysine is an amino acid that is antiviral. It is good for preventing shingles, herpes, etc. Take 1000 mg a day. Wash your hands frequently. Take some Emergen-C or Airborne. Airborne actually contains Lysine, but you can take more.