Chickenpox, shingles vaccination

[MaC]

I've had chickenpox. I was 29 when it finally caught me. Absolutely miserable and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. My primary school aged sons caught it and passed it along.

We had a family friend who had shingles, it was on her head and all her hair fell out and never re-grew. F. was a beautiful lady and this was just such a shame.
Forty five years she lived like that, and the shingles came back twice more.

Anyway, I've lived sort of in dread of the shingles.
On Friday I got a letter with an appointment for a shingles vaccination....sounds good, but there's a lot of evidence piling up that auto-immune disorders are kicked off by virus' issues.....and funnily enough I went down with RA shortly after I caught chickenpox.

No idea how true it all is, or is it just non linear, non joined up bits of 'evidence', assumption and coincidence.

In two minds about the vaccination. I'm pro vac, but I react so badly to them that I am beyond wary these days.
I have a fortnight to make up my mind.

Anyone else had this one ?

M

 

[Oldtimer]

We had shingles vaccinations without any problems. My mother had shingles in her 80s and was very ill. To be avoded if possible.

 

[Saint-Just]

I had a mild bout of shingles a couple of years back and wouldn't wish it on anyone. I am considering the vaccine (although curiously not yet eligible, despite previous incident) but I believe its efficiency is far from absolute. I need to read more into it but I understand your dilemma considering the one you had when it came to getting vaccinated against Covid in 2020. I would just say that the case then was much stronger than the one you are facing now, but in any case all of us who had chicken pox at whatever age are at risk. The vaccine lessens the risk but there is no way to measure the extent of either the risk or its reduction for any given individual.

I am not sure that was helpful...

 

[MaC]

@Saint-Just

I think to be honest, that's pretty much how I'm feeling about it.
If it were like measles and that taking stopped it spreading to anyone else, then that's a huge inducement to accept it.
We pretty much wiped out smallpox because we all complied. My generation and older all carry scars, but the young have no need, because it's gone...1980 WHO declared it so, iirc.

I'd like to see chickenpox gone, but we don't have the means, yet.

Shingles though; that's not a fun thing (@Oldtimer , sorry your Mum had to thole that at that age. I don't think it's a gentle thing at any age, but in the elderly, it can be another slippy step)

I am inclined to comply and take the vaccine, and just thole whatever it does to me, knowing that it's for the best even if it does play silly buggers with the immune system.
We'll see.

Right now I am aching from head to foot, I used to enjoy stormy weather, these days it's lost it's fun. So, that feeling down and sore isn't helping.

M