Shingle Vaccination : Why it is high time you get a vaccination?
Shingles is a viral infection related to chickenpox. If you have had chickenpox, the virus remains dormant within nerve cells in your body, and can then re-activate years later as shingles. At our Northampton branch of Touchwood Pharmacy, we offer a service to promote shingles prevention in the form of shingles immunisation.
What is Shingles?
Once the chickenpox virus has reactivated in the nerve cells, symptoms include severe pain in the skin that later turns into a band or patch of a painfully blistering rash. The rash may last for several weeks. People often complain of abdominal pain, fever and headaches whilst they have shingles. The blisters eventually break open and scab over. Unlike chickenpox, shingles is more likely to occur more than once in your lifetime.
Shingles Vaccine UK
The shingles vaccine is the most effective method for shingles prevention. Depending on the vaccine used, either one or two doses of the vaccine are required. Unfortunately, the vaccine cannot offer complete protection against the virus, but if you were to get shingles following vaccination, the illness would be much milder than if you had not been vaccinated. Vaccination is, therefore, highly recommended.
Shingles Vaccine NHS
There is a free shingles vaccine available on the NHS; however, it is only available for people aged 70 or 78. This restrictive age requirement means that many people in the UK will either not yet be old enough to qualify for free vaccination, or may have missed their opportunity. We are, therefore, pleased to offer the vaccination privately.
Shingles Vaccination Northampton
The shingles vaccination is recommended for people aged 50 or older, although it is most effective from the age of 60 when the risk of shingles and its complexities are at their highest. Many people do not want to wait for another decade to receive the shingles vaccine on the NHS and are therefore turning to Touchwood Pharmacy to provide health protection at a much earlier point in their lives. No one wants to put their health at risk, and the NHS shingles vaccine age restriction means that you may wish to pursue vaccination privately. Our experienced staff can provide expert advice tailored to your needs.
Call us to speak to one of our vaccine specialists, and book your shingles vaccination today.
