Fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness are common ways people maintain healthy lifestyles as they get older, but one thing often left off to-do lists is adult vaccinations. One in three people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime, but there are vaccines available to help prevent shingles, a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body. Even if you’re in good health, you may still be at risk if you’ve had chickenpox.
That risk of shingles only increases as you get older. In fact, 99 percent of people over the age of 50 are infected with the virus that causes shingles.
Even once a shingles rash clears up, a person can experience complications such as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or pain lasting from at least three months up to several years