A study published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases last month looked at data from 400,000 people who were infected with COVID-19 and 1.6 million who were not. Adults over the age of 50 who had COVID-19 were found to be 15% more likely to develop shingles within six months. The risk increases to 21 percent for those treated with COVID-19.
Shingles, also known as shingles, is a viral infection characterized by painful blisters that usually appear on one side of the trunk. An infection can take up to five weeks to clear up.
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the herpes strain that causes chickenpox. Once a person has chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in the body for decades before being reactivated to cause shingles, explained Dr. Kashif Pirzada, a Toronto emergency physician.
“It never leaves your body completely. Your immune system keeps it under control like a tug of war,” Pirzada told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday. “If you get a big shock to your immune system like a COVID infection, or if you do not sleep, you do not eat well; then it can break out and cause shingles.”
In rare cases, shingles virus can also cause a neurological disorder known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. This is a form of facial paralysis that can occur when a herpes zoster outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of the ears. Pirzada said his results could be disastrous. Earlier this month, a diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome forced Justin Bieber to cancel a series of tour dates.
“It affects your balance, your hearing, your taste, your facial movements, even the closing of your eyes,” Pirzanda said. “And recovery is long. If you start antivirals early, you can have a better course. But recovery can take months, even years.”
At the moment, Pirzada said, the best defense against shingles for people who have already had chickenpox is the shingles vaccine.
While the chickenpox vaccine has been available to children in Canada since 2000, the shingles vaccine is currently only recommended for adults over 50 years of age. Some provinces offer the vaccine free of charge to seniors and supporters want to see the rest of the country follow suit.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is also considering recommending the vaccine to anyone 18 years of age or older who is immunodeficient or immunosuppressed.
As for the rumors circulating on the internet that the COVID-19 vaccine causes shingles, Pirzada said it was not true.
“You will win [Lotto] “Sometimes before you get shingles from the vaccine,” he said.
