RTE star Teresa Mannion has revealed she was “stopped in her tracks” after she contracted shingles while studying for her Leaving Certificate.
The reporter was left in severe pain for three weeks when she was a teenager after contracting the illness.
Teresa told us: “I was a teenager, and I was doing exams. It was the year of the Leaving Cert. I didn’t think I was any more stressed than anyone else. But it’s not entirely unheard of for a young person to get shingles.
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“I was out of school for three weeks and you’ve no energy. Once the blisters come, it is so painful.
“At the end of the day shingles is the reactivation of the chickenpox virus so you can’t get shingles unless you’ve had chickenpox and almost everybody in Ireland had chicken pox.
“Shingles is a different ball game. It’s particularly prevalent in the over 50s and that is what the campaign is targeting. When you get shingles when you’re older, it is really severe and debilitating.
“My mother had it in her late 50s. She got really fatigued and she was a very fit woman and really healthy and it just took her over.
“I got over it in about three weeks, but it was very painful. It was tough but I was young whereas it took months for her.”
And Teresa – who burst onto our screens in sequins on Dancing With The Stars in 2017 - admitted that she is worried she might get it again.
“I am a little bit. I am going to be alert and find out what I need to know about how to manage it. It’s unusual but not unheard of. I never got it. I still get sensations in my scalp years later. It’s nerve pain and nerve pain is just the worst.
“It radiates around your body like a burning sensation and my mother describes it as having hot oil poured on your body.
“That is how horrible it is. It is really excruciating.”
Teresa is now calling on the over-50s to speak with their doctor, practice nurse or pharmacist about the risk factors for shingles and shingles prevention after new research conducted on behalf of GSK shows that almost one-fifth of respondents (19%) over-50 reported that they had experienced shingles and over half (55%) of those surveyed said they knew someone who was affected by it.
The GSK ‘Understanding Shingles’ research looked at awareness levels, knowledge and perceptions of shingles among the over-50s in Ireland. Teresa made the appeal because despite over half of respondents (56%) perceiving shingles to be a serious disease, a considerable number of respondents - 43% - said they felt it was unlikely that they would develop shingles over the next year.
The survey shows that 57% of respondents said they were extremely or somewhat knowledgeable about shingles and reveals good awareness of many of the main symptoms - including a red rash (76%), pain, burning, numbness or tingling in one part of the body (71%) and itching (55%). It also demonstrates that some of the main risk factors associated with shingles are well understood, with recognition of a weakened immune system (62%), being under stress (48%) and age-related declining immunity (47%). Additionally, 42% felt that shingles had an ‘extremely negative’ impact on quality of life.
Chair of Chronic Pain Ireland, Martina Phelan, added: “Shingles can be very painful. This pain is described as burning, shooting, stabbing or even constant unbearable itching. It does not happen to everyone, and it may only last for a few weeks, but some people can experience postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a chronic condition that is difficult to treat and may cause pain for months, or longer. People don’t know as much as we’d like about shingles and there are many misconceptions. We are pleased to be part of the Understanding Shingles campaign as we find shingles is not always taken as seriously as it should be.”
General Practitioner Dr Bernard Ruane of Milltown Medical Centre, Kerry said: “I’ve seen the impact of shingles first-hand whilst working in Canada. We have an opportunity to significantly reduce the incidence of shingles in people who are aged 50 and older and in those aged 18 years and older who are at increased risk of developing shingles. I would urge those over-50 who’ve had chickenpox and people with a weakened immune system to make an appointment with their doctor, practice nurse or pharmacist to discuss what options are available to them to avoid shingles.”
Visit www.understandingshingles.ie to learn more about shingles.
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