What percentage of over 65 get shingles?

The lifetime prevalence of shingles in the U.S. was 13.5\% in this age range but there was a strong age gradient. Lifetime prevalence increased regularly with age: 54–59 (9.7\%), 60–64 (10.7\%), 65–69 (12.7\%), 70–74 (14.9\%), 75–79 (17.1\%), 80–84 (20.4\%), 85–89 (22.9\%), 90 and older (25.8\%).

How common is shingles in seniors?

Professional medical care for seniors with shingles. Shingles is a viral infection that affects the nerves and causes a painful rash. While anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of getting shingles, the risk increases with age. In fact, about half of all shingles cases are in adults 60 and older.

Can you get shingles in your 60s?

Shingles are more common than many people think. Half of all people will have developed shingles by the time they reach age 80. Although shingles can develop at any age, it tends to occur most frequently in people between the ages of 60 and 80. By age 60, one in three people will have had shingles.

Why do older adults get shingles?

The reason for shingles is unclear. But it may be due to lowered immunity to infections as you grow older. Shingles is more common in older adults and in people who have weakened immune systems.

How easy is it to catch shingles?

The blisters that develop as a result of shingles contain virus particles. If you have not had chickenpox before, you can catch it from direct contact with the fluid from the blisters of someone who has shingles, or from something that has the fluid on it, such as bed sheets or a towel.

Can you get shingles in your seventies?

Though shingles can affect anyone at any age, it’s much more common among older adults. The virus can also cause more severe symptoms and complications for older people, too. To help avoid complications, such as long-term nerve pain, get a diagnosis and begin treatment as early as possible.

What triggers shingles in elderly?

The cause of shingles in the elderly is a virus called varicella-zoster. Chickenpox and shingles are both caused by this virus. After you have chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years after recovering from chickenpox, it can reactivate and cause shingles.

How long does shingles pain last in elderly?

Most cases of shingles last three to five weeks. The first sign is often burning or tingling pain; sometimes it includes numbness or itching on one side of the body.

Is shingles bad for elderly?

Complications from shingles in the elderly can lead to serious, long-term health problems. They range from bacterial skin infections that can cause scarring and narcotizing fasciitis to hearing and vision loss, encephalitis, transverse myelitis, peripheral motor neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

How are you exposed to shingles?

Are you contagious? A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who isn’t immune to chickenpox. This usually occurs through direct contact with the open sores of the shingles rash.