The incidence of shingles increases from age 50 onwards.
Approximately one in three people will develop the disease by the age of 80.
it is said*1
Vaccines can prevent about 9% of cases*2
Symptoms of shingles vary from person to person,
If the condition worsens, it may cause pain that interferes with daily life and may require hospitalization.
- Key points on this page
Click here for details on the shingles vaccine and how to make a reservation
Causes of Shingles
It is caused by the same virus as chickenpox
Shingles is an itchy, painful skin rash caused by the chickenpox virus.
Chickenpox generally occurs during childhood, but even after recovery, the virus remains dormant in the body and is suppressed by the immune system.
When people become adults and their immune systems weaken, the virus becomes reactivated and causes shingles.
It is said that more than 90% of Japanese people have the causative virus lurking in their bodies.*3
It is one of the diseases to be careful of when your immune system is easily weakened due to aging, lifestyle-related diseases, stress, fatigue, seasonal changes, etc.
How Shingles Develops
- Get chickenpox.
Chickenpox virus remains in the body even after recovery - When the immune system weakens due to aging or stress, the chickenpox virus that remains in the body becomes activated.
- Onset of shingles
The incidence of shingles increases from the age of 50 onwards, and the incidence rate increases with age.
Approximately one in three people will develop shingles by the age of 80.
Approximately 7% of patients who develop shingles are over 50 years old, but the remaining 3% are under 50 years old, so younger people can also develop the disease.*1
What symptoms are there?
■ Initial symptoms include pain, itching, and discomfort on the skin, followed by a band-like rash and blisters. * Symptoms vary from person to person.
In many cases, you may feel a strange sensation or a tingling or prickly pain on the skin of a certain part of your body. Eventually, a red rash will appear on that spot, and then blisters will appear and break, causing the skin to become sore and form scabs.
Symptoms and pain levels vary from person to person, with some people only experiencing mild pain and others suffering from pain so severe they cannot sleep.
If the condition worsens, it may interfere with daily life and may require hospitalization.
Even after the symptoms have subsided, you may develop post-herpetic neuralgia, a condition that can cause persistent pain for a long period of time.
Vaccination can prevent the disease and reduce symptoms if it does occur.
Prevention through vaccines - For those in Tokyo who wish to receive the vaccine -
■ Shingles vaccine is expected to be highly effective in preventing shingles
A new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, was released in January 2020.
Vaccinations have also started at Tokyo Midtown Clinic.
Shingrix is expected to be highly effective in preventing shingles, and has been shown to be effective in preventing it in people over the age of 50.
*The preventive effectiveness has been reported to be approximately 50% for people over 97 years old and approximately 70% for people over 90 years old.*2
Vaccine name: Shingrix
Price: 1 yen (tax included) per session, 27,500 yen (tax included) for two sessions
Inoculation method
Two vaccinations are required, two months apart.
For reservations and inquiries, please contact the Internal Medicine Department.
Please feel free to contact us by phone.Tokyo Midtown Clinic Outpatient Care
TEL.03-5413-0080
(Mon-Fri 09:00-12:30, 14:00-17:30)
FAQ
-Are there any side effects from getting the vaccine?
You may experience pain, swelling, and fever at the injection site, but these will usually disappear within a few days.
-Is shingles contagious?
Shingles cannot be transmitted to other people as shingles.
However, chickenpox can be transmitted from a person who has had shingles to a person who has not had chickenpox.
What are the initial symptoms?
In many cases, you may feel a strange sensation or a tingling or prickly pain in the skin of a certain part of your body. If the symptoms progress, you may experience pain so severe that you cannot sleep.
* Symptoms vary from person to person.
-Is there anything you should be careful about in your daily life?
Fatigue, stress, colds, seasonal changes, and a weakened immune system due to illness or treatment can all trigger the onset of the disease, so it is important to maintain your immune system and take good care of your health on a daily basis.
-What should I do if symptoms appear?
If you suspect you have shingles, see a doctor as soon as possible to begin treatment.
The most important thing is to suppress the proliferation of the virus and pain as early as possible.
*1: National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Center, IASR. 2013, 34, p. 298-300
*2: Freeze-dried recombinant varicella zoster vaccine Shingrix® for intramuscular injection Summary of major clinical trial results
*3:Infectious Disease Epidemiology Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, IASR. 2018; 39(8): 129-130.