Doctors encourage inoculation against painful shingles, laud new vaccine
TORONTO — Like many Canadians, Anne Van Burek had chickenpox as a child. But she never expected the virus that causes the itchy rash to come back to haunt her decades later.
In February, Van Burek developed shingles, a highly painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus that can become reactivated as people age and the strength of their immune systems begin to wane.
The rash started with a couple of blisters on her right hand, then spread up her arm to her shoulder.
“The pain was indescribable,” Van Burek said Tuesday. “I couldn’t unscrew the toothpaste tube.