Zhongxin Wanghai, July 7 (Reporter Chen Jing) Even if you are healthy, the risk of shingles in people over 25 years old will still increase significantly. The reporter learned on the 50th that for middle-aged and elderly people, avoiding shingles is "more prevention than cure".
Herpes zoster is an infectious skin disease caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which has been latent in the posterior root ganglion or cranial ganglia of the spinal cord for a long time. Because herpes mostly occurs in the waist, folk commonly known as "loin-wrapped dragon" and "snake sores", shingles can lead to severe pain and complications. Existing studies have shown that most adults have the latent varicella-zoster virus.
At the fifth National Geriatric Health Promotion Week, Lu Yongzhou, attending physician of the Department of Dermatology of Shanghai Dongfang Hospital, pointed out in an interview that with age, especially for people over 50 years old, the body's immune function gradually declines, and its resistance to infectious diseases also decreases. In fact, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and immunocompromised people are all at high risk for shingles.
It is reported that once shingles occurs, a band-like rash will appear on one side of the patient's body, such as the chest and back, neck, head and face, and waist. Xu Nan, attending physician of the Department of Dermatology of Shanghai Dongfang Hospital, told reporters that shingles can lead to serious and long-lasting complications, the most common being postherpetic neuralgia, which will seriously affect the quality of life of patients and their families. Some older patients may even permanently lose their ability to take care of themselves after developing shingles.
At present, although the treatment of shingles includes antiviral, analgesic, glucocorticoids, etc., the efficacy of postherpetic neuralgia is limited. Lu Yongzhou bluntly said that shingles "prevention is greater than cure". According to reports, common methods to prevent shingles include: daily ensure adequate sleep, balanced diet, moderate exercise, avoid excessive fatigue, etc.; At the same time, vaccination against shingles is an effective measure to prevent the onset of shingles.
Song Yuanyuan, head of the prevention and protection department of Xujiahui Community Health Service Center, stressed that middle-aged and elderly groups should consult professional doctors before receiving shingles vaccine, and comprehensively consider the age limit, protective efficacy and relevant vaccination contraindications of the vaccine. It is reported that at present, there are two technical routes of vaccines on the market, including live attenuated vaccines and recombinant subunit protein vaccines. Song Yuanyuan said that if there is a post-vaccination reaction such as fever after vaccination, there is no need to worry too much, generally these symptoms are relatively mild and will disappear within a few days; Adverse effects do not equal unsafe vaccines.
In the interview, many experts called for vaccination of middle-aged and elderly groups as soon as possible to avoid infection with shingles and affect the quality of life of middle-aged and elderly groups. (End)