2023-05-17 07:50:29
Anyone can get shingles. According to the AOK, around 1,755 AOK policyholders fell ill with this virus in Lake Constance-Upper Swabia in 2021. After surviving a chickenpox infection, the virus settles inactively in the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Vaccinations are therefore one of the most important preventive measures. The AOK covers the costs for the vaccination.
“In the district of Ravensburg, 719 people were affected, in the district of Sigmaringen 605 and in the Lake Constance district 431,” says AOK Managing Director Markus Packmohr. If the immune system is weakened, the virus can be activated once more and then migrates via the nerve tracts to the skin, where painful inflammation usually develops in connection with the rash typical of shingles. Triggers can also include excessive stress, certain medications such as cortisone or insufficient sun protection.
Chickenpox and shingles (herpes zoster) are both caused by the varicella-zoster virus. While chickenpox spreads very easily through droplet infection, i.e. with the wind, shingles is passed on through smear infection. However, the most common reason for contracting shingles is the described reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus remaining in the body following surviving a chickenpox infection.
The first symptoms of shingles are fatigue and fever
After two to three days, there is a burning or stabbing, moderate to severe pain in the affected area, followed by slight reddening of the skin with small nodules that develop into blisters that can itch within a few hours. This stage lasts up to five days. The blisters then dry up within two to ten days, forming a yellowish crust. Overall, it usually takes two to four weeks until the disease is over. Shingles can appear anywhere on the body. However, often only one region is affected, such as the chest or trunk.
Clear diagnosis is important
Markus Packmohr: “If there are signs of shingles, you should definitely go to your family doctor’s practice for clarification in order to make a clear diagnosis and treat the pain according to its cause.” Early treatment can prevent chronic pain and complications. The pain in the affected area is caused by inflammation of the nerve tracts. They may persist for some time following the rash has healed. In rare cases, this pain becomes chronic, i.e. it persists permanently.
Patients are contagious
To protect others from contagion, it’s important to know that people with shingles are contagious up to two days before the rash appears and remain so until all the blisters have completely crusted over. To protect others from contamination, it’s a good idea to cover the affected area until the blisters are completely crusted over. Because the virus is in the liquid in the blisters, covering it reduces the risk of infection for others.
The elderly and people with a weakened immune system are particularly affected. Of the 1,755 sick AOK insured persons, 73.88% were older than 50 years; more than half of the patients (57.58%) were older than 60 years. “In order to protect themselves once morest shingles, the Standing Vaccination Commission therefore recommends vaccination once morest shingles for people over the age of 60 and people at risk of a severe course from the age of 50,” emphasizes the AOK managing director.
Vaccinations are among the most important preventive measures available in medicine to protect once morest serious diseases. That is why the AOK covers the costs of many life-saving vaccinations.
Adult Vaccinations Should Refresh:
It is important to have your vaccinations checked regularly.
The following booster vaccinations are recommended in the vaccination guideline of the Federal Joint Committee:
- Tetanus (lockjaw) and diphtheria every ten years
- Whooping cough (pertussis) once in adulthood
- Measles once if you were born following 1970, are older than 18 years and have an unclear vaccination status or were only vaccinated once morest measles once in childhood
- Polio with incomplete vaccination status
More info online at the website of the AOK.
(Source: AOK)
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