Shingles Awareness Week – 24 February – 2 March
Around 32,427 cases of shingles are estimated to impact the people of New South Wales aged 50 years and older this year without vaccination.
With about one-in-three people will experience shingles in their lifetime, most people have been impacted by shingles.
Shingles can present in a number of ways; however, it can be a painful and potentially debilitating condition. It is a viral infection that is caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox earlier in life.
The risk of developing shingles increases with age. As the immune system naturally weakens, and this can allow the usually inactive virus that causes shingles to reactivate.
Shingles Awareness Week aims to increase understanding of the impact of shingles and address common misconceptions surrounding shingles. Journalist Shelly Horton and AFL-legend Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico have joined news presenter Deborah Knight as Shingles Awareness Week ambassadors, having experienced first-hand the pain and impact of shingles.
“I experienced shingles during a very stressful time of my life. A huge spread of tiny blisters appeared on my right inner thigh, which left me in excruciating pain, and I felt completely debilitated,” shared Shelly Horton.
People aged 65 years and over, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older and some people 18 years and older at increased risk of shingles are eligible for the National Immunisation Program (NIP) funded shingles vaccine. For more about the program. visit: https://shorturl.at/BXzta
Australians aged 50 years and over should learn more about the signs, symptoms and risk factors for shingles. For more information about shingles, speak to a healthcare professional and visit knowshingles.com.au.