Blog #18, What does vaccination
have to do with eyes?
It was April 1955
when the first Salk vaccines were administered and “The National Foundation for
Infantile Paralysis” became history. Sadly,
the vaccine actually worked too well, because we don’t even give a thought to
this once devastating condition.
Vaccination remains the best and least intrusive means of preventing
disease. No wonder laboratories all over
the globe are working night and day to come up with one for Covid 19. In this blog, I would like to discuss
prevention of another nasty disease, which in 25 % of cases can affect the eyes-
shingles.
Herpes zosteris
the culprit, the virus that causes chicken pox in children. This virus, after the chicken pox, remains in
the body residing near the spinal column.
It remains dormant until a person is exposed to undue stress, then the
virus rides along the body’s nerve fibres causing long-standing neuralgia (pain)
and in some cases, eye pain. Treatment
within the first 72 hours with an oral antiviral agent, helps to stop the
attack, but the neuralgia often persists long after. The virus can cause chronic eye pain,
glaucoma and even permanent vision loss. This is serious stuff. The first thing to mention is that there is a
zoster (chicken pox) vaccine for children that OHIP covers, so get your child
vaccinated. No chicken pox, no
shingles. This link appears to be effective
with the vaccine, zoster vaccine, no shingles.
I have seen far
too many patients with shingles, and again at this point it is preventable. For all of you who had chicken pox as a child,
the answer is vaccination, with the latest, Shingrix, able to prevent shingles
by a rate of 90-97% in people 50 years of age and older and by a rate of 89.1% in
80 year olds. Since it not a live
vaccine it can be given to immunocompromised patients. The Shingrix vaccineis given intramuscularly, in
two doses two to six months apart.
The doctors and
staff at our office are making a big push to educate and ensure that all our
patients get their shots. So the word
for today, talk to your GP or pharmacist and get your shots. Let’s see if we can make shingles history
like infantile paralysis.
Til next week,
The Good Doctor, Dr. Mark Germain, Burlington Optometrist
