helping you live healthy all morning
long we have looked at the painful
condition of shingles and when I first
started researching this story I had no
idea how common it is in fact we just
learned him another colleague who had
shingles in his 20s as well so we have
Allison Henning and Scott Johnson Scott
you just had shingles last month the
middle of the month and we show video of
you on the news I didn't know some
common until it happened to me yeah we
have a web editor Francine in her 20 she
got it another person on the assignment
desk and her her 20s and you know we
talked to the doctor they said that
they're seeing more and more of this for
you Allison this was about five or six
years ago you had just turned 20 had
just turned and how did you even know
that it was shingles so you know it was
a few weeks went by honestly I had you
know the rash on the side of my body and
I just thought it was a rash so I was
putting Neosporin on it I was putting
different points on it thinking it
wasn't a big deal and then you know it
wouldn't go away after a few weeks the
pain wasn't excruciating and I think it
did progress and it kind of spreads my
back there's a picture right there when
it when I first got it and you'll see if
we go to the other picture how it kind
of progressed a little bit so that's all
she has but what's interesting about
that is it does look like a rash
something that you wouldn't necessarily
take seriously and for you it was very
very identical I thought it was a rash
someone said maybe a staph infection and
then I eventually it just got worse on
the on the on the yeah he got like that
eventually I'm like okay something's
wrong I'm putting a low on it I'm
putting creams on it and then eventually
I just go I gotta go to the doctors can
you say soon as you went to the doctor
they immediately said to both of you all
this is a classic case of Shing I showed
it he was like that's shingles yep and
they said for me because it was on half
my head and it only goes down half your
body is how they say it works a couple
things with it that I learned after
talking to the doctors that stress can
trigger it and if your immune system is
a little bit lowered so you have been
working outside all day the day before
and you said a lot of heat I was at a
charity event and I had been stressed
and I don't know if that was the case I
had been you know it been a hard day and
I'd been working a lot but was it that
but I knew that frankly I'm not in the
best health I hadn't been eating well
for
years annemun bunts it every single day
professor
food whatever I can get my hands on and
I eventually after this happen I was
like if this is part of a long term
problem for me I kind of need to change
my diet I have as best I can
a little bit but it has started to make
a difference I hope for the long term it
helps with the shingles because it can
return right right I can return I mean
that's the one thing it's still probably
on your radar for you was it a stressful
time in your life you know it's funny it
was my sophomore fall semester and the
doctor asked me you know are you
stressed because it's very it's he said
it wasn't so common and I was surprised
because I knew shingles usually the
people who get it are a little bit a lot
older than you know 20 years old the
only thing I could think of is maybe a
class I was taking our personal finance
I'm like you know that's the only thing
I can think of that really has me
stressed in school but I was pretty
healthy my immune system seemed to be
fine but it still got me and maybe you
had a milder case - how long before you
were diagnosed cuz I know for you it was
about a week or so right was it a week
yeah I think mine was about two and a
half weeks Wow
okay pain it wasn't terrible but you saw
the picture there and I did feel it on
my back as well but there was no rash on
my back I'm the same way I was like the
worst day of a blistering sunburn but
constantly well at night and you worked
I mean that was the thing that that I
was amazed by so the thing that neither
one of you all knew until you got it and
you were so kind of questioning it today
is there's a vaccine out there and it's
recommended for people 50 and over so
neither of you would be in that well
yeah and my doctor did talk to me about
it and said they said are you done with
shingles is it totally gone and then you
have to have so many I don't know if
it's weeks or months after his pastor
and I don't think it's totally passed
through I'm and I can still feel
something on the back of my neck so I'll
probably in the early next year maybe
talk to my doctor about if that's
something I want to consider yeah and
for you I mean would you consider the
vaccine even though you have many more
years before it be recommend you know I
might I might wait a while but
definitely it's on my mind I mean it's
been on my mind anytime I feel something
strange the first thing I think about is
is it back yeah it's so under I mean in
the fact that Zach ladge way is in the
newsroom and he's like he had it in his
20s I never and that you will
to me when I hear all these people much
younger than me getting it I'm like okay
maybe it's not because I'm as I'm
healthy like and have the health of an
80 year old right it's just because it
hits younger people - my husband got it
when he was 25 on his arm Wow
so if you're out there you're like I've
had it to know that you are not alone
it's just unbelievable the vaccine that
was expensive and one thing that someone
emailed me this morning they wanted to
point out it's not always covered by
insurance it can be up to two hundred
dollars even with the insurance but the
doctor we talked to over at Orange Park
Medical Center definitely definitely
suggest that 50 and older get the
shingles vaccine also when you turn 85
one in three people they say we'll get
the shingles in their lifetime so it's
definitely something to consider so
hopefully this has been informative to
you and hopefully you guys will never
have the shingle again I know alright so
all of the information that we've been
sharing with you since six o'clock this
morning it is on news for Jax comm in
the health section we also have it in
the live healthy section so if there's
someone that you think could use this
information send them there because we
have you covered
back to you ladies