Each year, more than 600 Quebecers are hospitalized because of shingles, a relatively unknown virus, but which can cause unbearable pain.
Diane Dulac-Terlier contracted shingles for the first time in 2019. She compares its effects to a constant burning in the body.
“It’s like being burned with a hot iron repeatedly, nonstop, explains the 62-year-old lady to TVA Nouvelles. In my case, it spread extremely quickly. I found myself in the hospital within half an hour.”
The rash and blisters were clearly visible on x-ray and caused lesions.
The virus disappeared following a month, but it bothered her once more in 2020.
“I still have pain from the second time, in my left thigh. Shingles is the reappearance of the chickenpox you had as a child.
What worries patients who suffer from it is that shingles is a silent disease, which does not go away completely.
“In fact, the disease is still there, but in silent mode. So the virus will stay hidden in the spinal cord. If we catch it very, very early at the start, the treatments will be much more effective,” explains Dr. Huu Tram Anh Nguyen, anesthesiologist at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
The disease occurs mainly in people over 50, and more in people over 70. Immunosuppressed people aged 18 and over are also at risk.
Patients aged 70 and over have a one in two chance of remaining in pain for years. This is unfortunately one of the causes of suicide among the elderly.
Every year, 27,000 Quebecers are affected by shingles. There are 600 hospitalizations and 10 deaths, mainly among people aged 80 and over.
Étienne Patenaude-Charbonneau is 41 years old and healthy following being struck down by shingles in 2017.
“It started in the back. Three small buttons. Three days later I was nerve all the way down and had really huge blisters.
“The pain started regarding three days later. And I had pain for a year. For me, it was every two minutes. It was a big electric shock.”
The National Institute of Public Health estimates the cost of shingles to the healthcare system at $25 million per year. He recommends that vaccination be free in Quebec for people at risk.
It is estimated that 10-20% of people over 50 have had at least one dose of the shingles vaccine. In the meantime, those who wish can receive the vaccine in a clinic or pharmacy for nearly $200.