Now it is a cold day, and then the Lingnan region will face a wet and cold spring, and many diseases are in a high incidence period. In many community health service centers in Guangzhou, many experienced people are getting the shingles vaccine, "the pain of shingles, never want to experience a second time!" Lao Bo Zhang, who came to Sui to rely on his son, said.
Dermatologists and community immunization program professionals remind that vaccinating people aged 50 and over again against shingles can greatly reduce the risk of shingles, and even if they are infected, the symptoms will be much milder.
Experts interviewed:
Professor Yang Bin, dermatologist and president of the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital).
Liang Lizhen, secretary of the party branch and deputy director of the center of the Jinsha Street Community Health Service Center in Baiyun District, Guangzhou
Lin Haiyan, deputy chief of the Immunization Planning Section of jinsha street community health service center in Baiyun District, Guangzhou
Patient experience: such as fire, like a knife cut, "pain does not want to live"
Zhang Laobo, 70 years old this year, recalled the experience of shingles when he was in his 50s, and he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air: "That kind of pain, such as fire, like a knife cut, can only be described as 'pain does not want to live'!" "At that time, he was still at work, shingles grew on the waist, not to mention going to work, even eating, sleeping, sitting and standing were in pain, completely unbearable, the pain was alleviated for more than 1 month." Fortunately, the treatment was timely at that time, leaving no nerve pain left behind, but it made him smell herpes zoster ever since.
Old Uncle Zhang's sister-in-law was not as lucky as he was. Last year, she was 75 years old and got shingles, which grew on her head, eyes, and body, because the treatment was not timely, she was blind in her left eye, and she also had post-nerve pain, which was very painful.
It is precisely because they know the horror of shingles that after Zhang Laobo and his wife came to Guangzhou to rely on their son, they heard that they could prevent herpes zoster vaccine, and their sons handled it for their parents, "The family feels worth it, spend a small amount of money, and avoid sin!" Zhang Laobo said.
Expert analysis: Mistakenly "dermatitis" is easy to miss the best treatment period
The same is herpes zoster, it will hurt when it occurs, why is the treatment outcome different?
Professor Yang Bin, a dermatologist and president of the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital), pointed out that the public, especially the middle-aged and elderly people, who are highly ill, do not know enough about shingles and its harms, and even mistake shingles for ordinary "dermatitis", which is easy to miss the best treatment period, resulting in sequelae neuralgia.
Professor Yang pointed out that herpes zoster is an infectious disease caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus that has been lurking in the posterior root ganglia of the spinal cord or cranial ganglia for a long time. Clinically, it is mainly manifested by herpes in bands and clusters of peripheral nerves along one side of the body, often accompanied by neuropathic pain.
In addition to the vesicular rash, pain in the affected area is also a typical symptom of shingles. "Pain in the acute phase of herpes zoster, such as burning, electric shock, knife stabbing, may be more than labor pain, rheumatoid arthritis or chronic cancer pain, etc., may last for several days to 1 month", Professor Yang Bin introduced, postherpetic neuralgia is the most common complication of the disease, can last for months or even years, 30%-50% of patients with postherpetic neuralgia pain time of more than 1 year, some up to 10 years.
She especially reminded that many patients mistakenly regard blisters as "ordinary dermatitis", and treat acute pain as "migraine", "intercostal neuritis", "gastric neuralgia", etc., so they miss symptomatic treatment.
Once the sequelae neuralgia, 45% of patients have anxiety, depression, inattention, etc.; more than 40% of patients are accompanied by moderate to severe sleep disorders and interfere with daily work and life; some elderly patients may permanently lose their ability to take care of themselves after suffering from shingles and cannot return to normal life.
Incidence: Middle-aged and elderly people are vulnerable to invasion
Because herpes zoster is caused by the chickenpox-zoster virus, many people feel that people who have had chickenpox will not suffer from shingles when they grow up, Professor Yang Bin bluntly said that "this is a cognitive misunderstanding".
She pointed out that the reality is that if you have had chickenpox as a child, you will have a high probability of getting shingles again. Chickenpox, herpes zoster, both of these diseases are caused by chickenpox-zoster virus infection, the first onset of infection with the virus is chickenpox, after the cure of chickenpox virus lurking in the nerve roots of the spinal cord, when the immunity declines or there are precipitating factors when the virus re-infects and manifests as shingles.
"If you get shingles, you won't get it again" is another big misunderstanding. The characteristics of the "latent" of the varicella-zoster virus can only allow patients to have antibodies for a short time, but this antibody decreases with the "latent" of the virus, waiting for the patient's body's resistance and immunity to decline before "attacking".
The experience of Tan Bo, a resident of Shijing in Guangzhou, who is in his 60s, illustrates this point. Tan Bo himself is a cancer patient, has been infected with the herpes zoster virus twice, the body resistance is weak, the first infection was "like thousands of ants biting on the body" of the neuralgia tortured enough, hospitalized for half a month; the second year to get shingles when he had experience, timely medical treatment, not so painful.
Professor Yang Bin pointed out that according to the statistics of relevant departments, the number of new cases of shingles in China's 50-year-old population is about 1.56 million a year, and shingles is one of the infectious diseases that the middle-aged and elderly people are susceptible to.
Prevention: Herpes zoster vaccine
In addition to daily support such as exercise, regular work and rest, and a balanced diet, vaccination is the most cost-effective way to prevent shingles.
"Vaccines are recognized as effective disease prevention measures because of their good preventive effects, cost-effectiveness and ease of vaccination. Vaccination can effectively help middle-aged and elderly people prevent the diseases targeted, alleviate or avoid the pain of diseases such as shingles, and ensure the quality of life. At present, the recombinant herpes zoster vaccine that has been listed in China is suitable for vaccination for people aged 50 years and above. Professor Yang Bin said.
On January 10, the community health service center of Jinsha Street in Baiyun District, Guangzhou held a special session for shingles vaccination, and from the scene situation, the majority of the vaccinated people were 50 to 70 years old.
"We now basically have a special session for the elderly in the shingles vaccine once a month." Liang Lizhen, secretary of the party branch and deputy director of the center of the Jinsha Street Community Health Service Center in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, said that there are more than 8,000 people over the age of 50 in Jinsha Street, of which more than 6,000 are over the age of 60, according to preliminary statistics, about 30% of the middle-aged and elderly people over the age of 50 have the willingness and demand for shingles vaccination.
Community health service centers provide services such as chronic disease management and vaccination for residents and the general public. Vaccination is one of these important functions and one of the focuses of community disease prevention. It is understood that at this stage, the city's major health service centers can make an appointment to receive shingles vaccine, and the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital) also has an adult vaccination clinic, which can be vaccinated with a variety of adult vaccines such as shingles.
Special reminder: how to plan the four vaccines that middle-aged and elderly people often receive at this stage?
During the epidemic prevention and control period, in addition to the new crown vaccine, there are influenza vaccines, pneumococcal vaccines and shingles vaccines. How should older people plan their vaccination period?
Lin Haiyan, deputy chief of the immunization planning section of the Jinsha Street Community Health Service Center in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, introduced that first of all, the influenza vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine can be vaccinated on the same day, if there is enough time, which vaccine can be vaccinated first. Secondly, if the new crown virus vaccine is given first, the herpes zoster vaccine can be given after fourteen days of intervals, observed for more than 7 days, if there is no adverse reaction, the influenza vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine can be vaccinated, and then the new crown vaccine can be continued every two weeks. In addition, the interval between two doses of herpes zoster vaccine is two months, and if two months are not given in time, it is recommended to receive a second dose within two to six months.
Some people wonder: will the new crown vaccination and herpes zoster vaccination "fight"? In this regard, Liang Lizhen pointed out that after 14 days of vaccination with the new crown vaccine, other adult vaccines can be vaccinated, and will not affect the efficacy and safety of the vaccine, 50 years old and older middle-aged and elderly people are high incidence of shingles, as long as it is not in the acute onset of the disease, such as cold fever, etc., can come to vaccination. After vaccination, be careful not to eat foods that can easily cause allergies, pay attention to rest, and do not exercise vigorously.
(Information)
Text/He Xuehua