Key Points
- One in three people will develop the viral infection shingles in their lifetime.
- Shingles can present in anyone who has had chickenpox, which is caused by the same herpes zoster virus.
- A vaccine will be offered for free to nearly five million Australians at "high risk" of contracting the disease.
It started off as a burning and stabbing pain in her chest, before it became an all-consuming pain and discomfort.
Wendy Dare was 64 years old when she developed shingles, a viral infection that lurks hidden in the nervous system until it's reactivated, usually affecting those over 50.
"The pain level in the first few days wasn't significant, and I wouldn't have said that it was debilitating in any way, but that was at the beginning," she said.
"In this upper area of my chest, it was a stabbing pain, burning pain. In fact, it was an everything pain."
The painful rash lasts several weeks and as it develops, small groups of liquid-filled blisters will also form. Source: Getty
The pain is often described as the worst ever experienced, and one in three people develop it in their lifetime, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
However, from 1 November, the government's National Immunisation Program (NIP) will offer the Shingrix vaccine for free to nearly five million Australians at "high risk" of catching the virus.
Shingrix will be available to anyone over 65, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals over the age of 50 years and to immunocompromised individuals aged 18 years or over.
It's a non-live vaccine, which means it can't replicate inside the body and cause disease, even in people with weakened immune systems, and will provide 10 years of protection from the virus.
The link to chickenpox
Shingles can present in anyone who’s had chickenpox, which is caused by the same herpes zoster virus, said Robert Booy, a professor and infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney.
"It actually happens because you've previously had chickenpox and then the virus hides for years in your nervous system," Booy told SBS News.
"Virtually everyone has had chickenpox by the age of 50.
“It impacts on people because not only can it cause acute pain and local tenderness and swelling and blistering, but it can cause long-term pain as well."
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New funding for vaccine could bring pain relief for thousands of people
SBS News
09/10/202304:58
He warned that 10 to 20 per cent of those who suffered shingles will go on to develop a long-term nerve pain called post-herpetic neuralgia, which can last months to years after the initial rash.
"Now that risk goes up the older you get," he said.
"So if you're in your seventies or eighties and get shingles, you may have a risk of 20 per cent of getting a pain that lasts for months and sometimes even years after the original rash."
Painaustralia chief executive Giulia Jones welcomed the announcement, recognising the significant pain burden that the disease places on many Australians.
"So the problem with pain is it reduces people. It brings them home, it makes them afraid to move and to be active. And particularly I think shingles pain is well understood for doing that to people," Jones said.
"I don't want to see people retiring early. I don't want to see people's lives being minimised by conditions like this, and our community would welcome things that will improve that for them."
Experts are encouraging families to begin conversations with their loved ones to raise awareness about how painful and debilitating shingles can be.
