According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults over the age of 60 should get the shingles vaccine to protect themselves from reactivation of the chickenpox, or varicella-zoster, virus. Shingles is a painful, viral skin infection that can occur in adults who had chicken pox as children. The virus can stay latent in the body for years, and then become reactivated, causing shingles. Before receiving this immunization, however, adults should consult a physician to discuss the potential dangers of the shingles vaccine.
Anaphylactic Reaction
Certain people who receive the shingles vaccine, especially those who are allergic to neomycin or gelatin, are in danger of developing an anaphylactic reaction to this immunization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though severe allergic reactions to the shingles vaccine are rare, hypersensitive people can develop life-threatening symptoms. An anaphylactic reaction can cause pale skin, weakness, wheezing, dizziness, breathing problems or heart rate abnormalities. These symptoms typically arise in allergic people within a few minutes after a doctor administers the shingles vaccine, and require prompt medical intervention.
Shingles
Poor immune system function is a consequence of several disease states including AIDS, lymphoma and leukemia. Certain forms of disease therapy or treatment, such as radiation or chemotherapy, can also significantly lower the number of healthy immune cells in a patient's body. Inadequate or malfunctioning immune cells can't protect the body against infection. Consequently, patients with depressed immune systems who receive the shingles vaccine, which contains a weak form of the active virus, are in danger of developing full-blown shingles. Due to this risk, patients who have immune system disorders or diseases, or who are currently taking immunosuppressive drug therapy should not receive the shingles vaccine.
Adverse Effects
Adverse effects are a danger associated with shingles vaccine treatment. More than 30 percent of people who received the shingles vaccine during clinical trials reported experiencing injection site tenderness, pain or redness as adverse effects of treatment, according to Merck, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of the vaccine. Itching, swelling and bruising at the injection site can also occur as adverse effects of immunization with the shingles vaccine. Headache pain occurs infrequently, but can be uncomfortable or disruptive to affected people. Though these side effects typically resolve within a day or two of treatment, people who experience severe or persistent adverse effects should contact a medical professional.
