Patients are at a much higher risk of contracting shingles after they reach the age of 50 years. The potential complications that can arise from such an infection are a burning sensation of the areas of skin affected by the virus, corneal wounds and conjunctivitis. However, elderly patients tend to experience much more severe symptoms, for example encephalitis or a rash that can present itself in various locations around the body. Their symptoms also last longer than they do in younger people, so the shingles vaccination is advisable as it can reduce the chances of contracting the infection and at the same time decrease the risk of any of the aforementioned complications.
For patients above the age of 60 years, there are currently shingles vaccinations that can be administered via a single injection. Studies have found that this type of vaccination can reduce the chance of contracting shingles by up to 51.3% in the three years following the vaccination.
Moreover, in cases whereby patients do contract shingles, the vaccination has been found to prevent postherpetic neuralgia up to 66.5% of the time when compared to patients who have not been vaccinated.