20% of people who have had chicken pox as children end up getting shingles in their adulthood. The virus causing chicken pox, - varicella zoster virus, lies dormant in the nerve cells near the spinal cord and then get activated several years later, causing shingles. This usually happens when the immune system is weakened due to age or other medical conditions, such as malfunctioning organs, cancer or AIDS. Shingles manifests itself in the form of tingling pain, followed by the appearance of a red rash two to five days after the first symptoms. Most commonly seen on one side of the body, the rash develops into pus filled blisters which crust over and fall off like the chicken pox blisters. This is sometimes followed by a painful condition, known as neuralgia, that affects the nerves and last from a few weeks to several years. Shingles often leads to several other problems, so it is essential to get adequate treatment right at the outset to prevent aggravation.
There are several researches being conducted in the field of shingles in relation to the chicken pox vaccination. While it seems logical that if the chicken pox vaccine can prevent chicken pox, it should also be able to prevent shingles, since they are both caused by the same virus. In reality, the vaccine can not prevent shingles. One research points out that shingles has no connection with the chicken pox vaccination, since the immunity provided by the vaccination holds strong only as long as the body is exposed to virus in its environment to get its immunological boosting. This is not the case with adults, since they are rarely in contact with children with chicken pox. This also explains by the vaccine is more effective in countries where 100% vaccination of children is not in effect, in comparison to countries where all the children are vaccinated. Such universal vaccination can actually work against the vaccine, by removing the immunologic boosting in the environment and thus still leave the children vulnerable to the disease. Other researches are being conducted in the field of shingles independent of the chicken pox vaccination and attempts are being made to develop a vaccine for shingles which can be administered to adults as well. This would effectively boost the immune system of the body, preventing shingles and other complications which are a cause of much pain and trauma in adulthood and thus help to reduce the costs of medical treatments in old age.
answered by M W