Prevention
You can help prevent shingles by taking care of your health. Here are some important steps:
- Vaccination: There is a vaccine specifically for shingles called the shingles vaccine. Getting vaccinated helps your body build protection against the virus, greatly reducing the chance of getting shingles.
- Healthy Lifestyle: Eating healthy, exercising, and managing stress can help keep your immune system strong, which is important because a strong immune system can help keep viruses like the varicella-zoster virus inactive.
- Avoiding Triggers: Some people find that stress or being sick can trigger shingles. Finding ways to relax and stay healthy can help.
How the Vaccine Works
The shingles vaccine helps your body prepare to fight the varicella-zoster virus if it tries to reawaken and cause shingles. Here’s how it works:
- Building Immunity: The vaccine contains a weakened form of the virus or parts of the virus. When you get the vaccine, your body recognizes it as something that could cause sickness and starts to build up defenses (like antibodies) against it.
- Memory Cells: After vaccination, your body creates memory cells that remember how to fight the virus. If the virus tries to wake up in the future, your immune system is ready to fight it off faster and more effectively.
Getting the shingles vaccine is a great option for reducing the risk of getting shingles, especially as you get older. It can help keep you healthy and protect you from the painful symptoms of shingles.
