Do you remember having the chickenpox? You got to stay home from school. You had a fever, you itched like crazy. And oh those blisters! If you had a really bad case, you had them in your mouth and even in your eyes. But you really weren't all that sick and you weren't in any pain.

But now it's 50 years later. First you just don't feel well, then there is some tenderness, usually on the chest or abdomen, sometimes on a leg or arm. After a week or two of these rather non-specific symptoms, a rash appears in the same area. This progresses to red spots and then blisters. You have a case of shingles. It gets so painful that even wearing clothes is intolerable. If you are a typical case, the worst part lasts about a week or ten days. In some cases, it can last more than a month.

How are these two diseases related? They are caused by the same virus. The Herpes zoster virus is the cause of both childhood chickenpox and shingles. This virus is related to the Herpes virus that causes fever blisters and genital blisters. Like these viruses, the zoster virus takes up long-term residence in nerve cells. All of these viruses will have recurrent outbreaks over time. For the most part, this infection will occur in only one nerve. You have probably noticed that a fever blister on your lip usually appears in the same spot each time. That spot is the end of one nerve that is permanently infected but the virus.

What makes these viruses recur? The common name of fever blister gives us a clue. Generally, any physical or psychological stress to the body can cause an outbreak at any time. The thing that makes shingles so different is that it is usually occurs only in those over 60 years of age. It is generally recognized that a lowered immune system is what allows the chickenpox virus to return to cause the painful shingles.

In recent years, there has been an anti-viral drug, Acyclovir, that is quite effective in shortening the outbreak of blisters associated with any of these viruses. Until that time, the only thing that could be done for shingles was to provide pain relief. But just recently, the FDA has approved a new medication. The Merck Pharmaceutical Company in conjunction with the Veteran's Administration hospitals conducted the studies that lead to the approval of this vaccine. This vaccine is not a treatment. It is of no help once you have the pain and blisters of shingles. What it does is to strengthen that body's immune system in keeping the virus under control. It does not rid the body of the virus, just controls it. Right now it appears that one dose of this vaccine is all that is needed after the age of 60 to help control this virus and keep it dormant. The vaccine is not 100% effective. It will not prevent all cases in all people, but it will likely reduce the severity if a case does occur.

Everyone over the age of 60 should ask about getting a dose of this vaccine. The vaccine will undoubtedly not be cheap but will be covered by Medicare and other insurance programs.