Shingles vaccine
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is the medical term for the reactivation of the chickenpox virus.A shingles prevention vaccine exists and we strongly recommend it to people over 60.
Those within the 50 to 59-year age group may also get the vaccine after consulting a health professional. Remember that signs and symptoms can reappear in a person who has already developed shingles, which is why we recommend the vaccine.
Moreover, remember that even if you are vaccinated against the chickenpox, or have developed this infection previously, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux recommends vaccination for better protection against herpes zoster and its complications.

Symptoms and prevention
Symptoms are often preceded by warning signs, such as excessive sensitivity, localized numbness, and itching. The rash produces painful, liquid-filled vesicles, causing a burning and stinging sensation.
Before lesions appear, the rash causes itching and, in some cases, severe pain. The rash usually lasts about seven to 10 days, disappearing completely after about a month. However, pain may persist for up to three months or even longer in rare cases. In most cases, a single shingles outbreak will occur, but some people have repeated flares. Symptoms are more intense and the rash more severe among those with a weakened immune system. For these people, lesions take longer to heal and will sometimes scar. The virus may also spread to other organs, in some cases.
One of the major complications of shingles is post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), characterized by severe pain along the path of the affected nerves, where the herpes zoster virus is located. The virus can cause blindness when it affects the optic nerve and is not treated.
With outbreaks most often triggered when the immune system weakens (aging, medication, mononucleosis, stress, cancer, disease, etc.), the virus reactivates in one or more nerve ganglia, and from there, the virus travels through the nerve fibers to the skin, causing a rash similar to that of the chickenpox.
The microscopic lesions of the skin are identical to those of the chickenpox (presence of multinucleated giant cells with mononuclear infiltration). As diagnosing the infection is usually easy, a histological analysis is generally not necessary.