shc
#171
Oh no! I believe there are antivirals that you’d want to look into – the sooner you take them the more they help…
Btw, the earlier shingles vaccine before shingrix - Zostovax was just a higher dose of the chickenpox vaccine,Varivax. Based on this, I did a full course of the chickenpox vaccine a couple years back hoping it’d prevent shingles. A year later though, I was able to get access to Shingrix in Canada and took that (age: 37), because I was about to move countries.
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adssx
#172
Yes I’ve just started aciclovir. Unfortunately rather late in the course of the disease. Indeed I asked ChatGPT and it said it was a fungal infection so I put anti fungal cream… until the (mild) stabbing pain arrived and I went to the doctor…
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?? Childhood vaccination against chickenpox standard in France in the early 90’s?
Epidemiology of chickenpox in France (1991-1995)
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That’s so rare at this age. My buddy was in his later 40s going thru a nasty divorce when I diagnosed him with Ramsay-Hunt syndrome. Bell’s palsy, hearing loss, vertigo, balance issues… did physical therapy, improved some but couple of year later still has neurologic damage (persistent 80% unilateral hearing loss and mild facial paralysis). This virus is no joke.
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adssx
#175
No, chickenpox vaccination only started in 2004 in France. I got chickenpox, not the vax.
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adssx
#176
I thought as well but it’s actually not that rare: Shingles Facts and Stats | Shingles (Herpes Zoster) | CDC
The rate in people aged 55–65 (6/1000) is “only” 4 times the rate in people aged 25–35 (1.5/1000). I thought it would be 10x or even 100x:
It’s actually increasing in young people (30–39yo) while it’s decreasing in people aged 70+ and plateauing in other groups. The rate in people aged 30–39 in 2019 was almost identical to the rate in people aged 50–59 in 1998!
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Beth
#177
JFC, you can’t catch a break!!!
I’m sorry to hear this. Sending hugs!!!
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Neo
#178
Good write up by Dr Topol
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Neo
#179
hope you feel better soon @adssx !
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AnUser
#180
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shc
#181
Well, old smallpox vaccines were initially used to help with monkeypox (mpox) when it started surging
But Jynneos is a new vaccine dedicated to mpox (and also works against smallpox). I see little harm in taking this and probably much easier to get this than some old smallpox vaccine.
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Its relatively inexpensive:
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Hmm, $300 for an old vaccine is not exactly what I would call cheap.
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shc
#184
Well… it’s new.
But I agree $300 isn’t exactly inexpensive — but may be covered by many insurance companies.
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Shingrix is $761 USD here in Hong Kong. Is that more or less expensive than other parts of the world?
In India it is about INR 12000 per dose (~USD 140) at the doctor’s office (I am planning on getting it next month when I travel to Chennai)
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Dr.Bart
#187
I already got mine as a kid, have a little scar to prove it 
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CDC advisers recommend lowering the age for RSV shots to 50-59 years
The CDC currently recommends the vaccine for adults age 75 and older and at-risk adults ages 60 to 74.
“What’s swaying me is there clearly are people in that 50 to 59 years age group, for example lung transplant patients, …that would clearly benefit from having access to this vaccine,” Jane Zucker, one of the voting members of the panel, said ahead of the vote.
If the recommendation is adopted by the CDC, it would make about 30% of U.S. adults in that age group eligible for the RSV vaccine, according to panelist Michael Melgar.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-advisers-weigh-lower-age-recommendation-rsv-vaccines-2025-04-16/
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adssx
#189
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I get an RSV shot every year. 20 USD and shots given out at my workplace.
They don’t want us to get sick.
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