The severity of shingles and risk of complications increase with age.1,2 Shingles usually resolves on its own and most people make full recoveries. However, shingles typically produces a painful rash that can impact your daily life including being unable to perform daily activities independently, feeling negative emotions like helplessness, and poor quality of sleep.2 Furthermore, some patients may also experience complications.
About 1 in 3 people with shingles may develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication of shingles.3 The pain from PHN can be so severe and debilitating that it interferes with daily life and can last months to years after the rashes clear up2,4. Also, up to 1 in 4 of patients with shingles experience herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), a condition which affects optical nerves that in rare cases can lead to vision loss.4 Other complications of shingles include skin scarring, stroke, secondary infections, hearing loss, partial weakness or paralysis in areas where nerves are affected by shingles.4,5
Shingles and its related complications can have significant impact on a patient’s quality of life2 and the economic burden is substantial.6-8
References:
1. Wehrhahn MC, Dwyer DE, Aust Prescr 2012;35;143-7
2. Chen L-K, et al. BMC Infect Dis. 2017; 17:213. doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2198-y.
3. Kawai K, et al. BMJ Open. 2014 Jun;4(6):e004833.
4. Harpaz R, et al. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2008 June;57(RR-5):1-30.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shingles (Herpes Zoster) - Clinical Overview. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/hcp/clinical-overview.html. Accessed Sep 2023.
6. Chew, J. (2022, February 18). 5 things to know about shingles. The Straits Times. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/5-things-to-know-about-shingles
7. Ho KY et al. Burden of Illness and Cost of Herpes Zoster and Post Herpetic Neuralgia---A Retrospective, Observational Study in Raffles Hospital, Singapore. 30 Aug 2014. Presented at the Raffles Hospital 13th ASM and the 6th Association for South-East Asian Pain Societies (ASEAPS) Congress 2015.
8. AsiaOne Online. Man on complication from shingles: It felt like being burnt. Published on June 19, 2014. Accessed from https://www.asiaone.com/health/man-complication-shingles-it-felt-being-burnt
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