Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups

[Shiloh]

Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/01/01/shingles-becoming-more-prominent-in-all-age-groups/

Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups
January 1, 2013 6:31 PM

BOSTON (CBS) ? It?s a painful virus usually associated with your parents or grandparents. But, it?s not necessarily confined to just them anymore.

The shingles virus is now hitting more young people than ever before; young people like Caroline Radaj...

 

[Emily]

Re: Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups

This article from 2005 has comments from the last couple of years that confirm this alarming trend:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/09/01/12896.aspx

Chicken pox vaccine associated with shingles epidemic
Published on September 1, 2005 at 5:52 PM
New research published in the International Journal of Toxicology (IJT) by Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D., reveals high rates of shingles (herpes zoster) in Americans since the government's 1995 recommendation that all children receive chicken pox vaccine.

Goldman's research supports that shingles, which results in three times as many deaths and five times the number of hospitalizations as chicken pox, is suppressed naturally by occasional contact with chicken pox.

Dr. Goldman's findings have corroborated other independent researchers who estimate that if chickenpox were to be nearly eradicated by vaccination, the higher number of shingles cases could continue in the U.S. for up to 50 years; and that while death rates from chickenpox are already very low, any deaths prevented by vaccination will be offset by deaths from increasing shingles disease. Another recent peer-reviewed article authored by Dr. Goldman and published in Vaccine presents a cost-benefit analysis of the universal chicken pox (varicella) vaccination program. Goldman points out that during a 50-year time span, there would be an estimated additional 14.6 million (42%) shingles cases among adults aged less than 50 years, presenting society with a substantial additional medical cost burden of $4.1 billion. This translates into $80 million annually, utilizing an estimated mean healthcare provider cost of $280 per shingles case...

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups

It seems to me this trend could be related to an overall trend of reduced health and immunity , increasingly found in (younger) people, worldwide.

Being no expert, I would consider: check your nutrition, your sleep, your stress level, your vit D level, your daily exercise.

 

[dc_agar]

Re: Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups

I only recently learned that recipients of the chickenpox vaccine are likewise susceptible to developing shingles later in life, which means that the chickenpox vaccine is a live DNA virus vaccine that embeds itself in the nerve cells just like the chickenpox virus. I only learned from this posting that the morbidity and mortality of shingles exceeds that of chickenpox.

So now the need for a lifetime of booster shots at regular intervals is what, this forehead-slapping moment that could not have been anticipated by the producers of this vaccine and the FDA that recommends for school districts to mandate it? And is that better than endemic chickenpox?

Like you Gert, I'm no expert. I didn't finish my degree in biology. But what education I have had has left me very concerned with the governance decisions regarding everything that goes into people's bodies, whether it be food or medicine. The inflammatory implications seem to be the last consideration. The consumer's last line of defense -- the reliable epidemiological data of what happens when a new ingredient or product begins to be consumed -- is highly undervalued. Your recommendations are right on. Everyone needs to take their own health seriously, and optimize those health factors which are under their control.

Whenever I feel tempted to entertain some of the more vitriolic theories out there, I remind myself of the way individual behavior affects others in health insurance pools public and private, and the state of where that is at. We don't have too many people getting run over by buses adding to health costs, we have too many people choosing to get run over by powdered doughnuts. Better get serious.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Shingles Becoming More Prominent In All Age Groups

Source: http://www.wafb.com/story/20661599/shingles-virus-up-in-all-age-groups


Shingles virus up in all age groups
Posted: Jan 23, 2013 4:19 PM EST Updated: Jan 23, 2013 9:16 PM EST
By Elizabeth Vowell - email

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

College life for Caroline Radaj was fun but stressful; and that was before she ended up with a painful case of shingles.

"It felt like either I had a pinched nerve or that just someone was constantly stabbing me," said Radaj...