Shingles can mean months of suffering

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - There is often skepticism about which vaccines are really necessary, especially for adults. But a simple shot could prevent an incredibly painful illness.

A local professor suffered from shingles that was so painful, the slightest touch was unbearable. Commercials from the company that makes the vaccine run all the time and it's accurate - people really do wake up with a terrible rash accompanied by a burning sensation that feels like someone has set it on fire.

Dr. Terry Connell described, "I woke up and it was really sore, to the point where I could hardly get out of bed."

Dr. Connell is professor of microbiology and immunology at UB. He thought he had a herniated disk, but later he realized what was happening.

"I put my foot down on the pavement, and as soon as I did that, this pain shot up my leg, and right then, I knew. I leaned down, took my shoe off, took the sock off, looked underneath, and right on the sole of my foot, I could see blisters starting to form," Dr. Connell said.

Those blisters were shingles, due to reactivated chicken pox virus. With chicken pox, blisters are all over the body. When you recover, some of the viruses travel in your nerves and remain dormant in nerve cells near the spinal cord for decades. If they are reactivated, they travel back along the nerves and the blisters cluster where the nerves end. That's shingles, and it's awful.

Dr. Connell took two months to recover. Anyone who's had chicken pox can get shingles.

"It can't happen to me, it's not going to happen to me....  It can happen to you," Dr. Connell warned.

The vaccine can prevent it.

Dr. Connell stated, "My laboratory works on vaccines; I'm a strong proponent of vaccines. This is not one you should miss."

If you're 60-years-old or older and you had chicken pox, ask your doctor about the shingles vaccine. Even if you've had shingles, that's no guarantee you're protected.