Shingles PSA

[OakLeaf]

... the vaccine only has a 50-50 chance of working???

My dad had shingles and it was awful - I think he's still dealing with the pain, it's just dwarfed by the pain he has from other things right now. He's lucky that we were on vacation in Austria when it struck him and he was able to get great medical care to keep it from blinding him - even though changing his flight and going home early in that kind of pain can't have been much fun. But vaccines aren't without risk, and 50-50 just doesn't seem worth it to me.

[Biciclista]

what i read is if you get shingles after getting the shot it will be a much milder case. I'll hedge my bets!

[withm]

Anyone who has actually suffered through shingles would surely recommend getting the vaccine. It reduces the risk of getting the disease, reduces the severity if you do get it, and lessens the severity of the post herpetic neuralgia.

On the other hand, if you enjoy the sensation of ice picks periodically penetrating deep into large sections of your body, well then knock yourself out!

[itself]

Can shingles take a less severe form? For the last year, on and off, my right shoulder gets an outbreak. It's not painful, but feels like burning/electrical shocks. It seems worse at night for some reason.

Any insight would be nice...I hate going to doctors, mostly a waste of time I find..