Rheumatoid Arthritis And Shingles Shot

The new vaccine called shingrix was approved on october 20 2017 by the fda for the prevention of shingles herpes zoster in adults aged 50 years and older.

Rheumatoid arthritis and shingles shot.

Many ra drugs including dmards and biologics suppress your immune system and increase your risk for infection. This virus is never completely cleared from our bodies but lies quietly in spinal nerve cells. Just recently i have developed a spot of shingles on the back of my neck. Recombinant zoster vaccine rzv shingrix has been in use since 2017 and is recommended by acip as the preferred shingles vaccine.

Doctors recommend that people who have rheumatoid arthritis receive the annual vaccination for respiratory influenza also known as the flu shot. According to the hospital for special surgery rheumatoid arthritis patients who take immunosuppressant drugs should avoid live vaccines. Two vaccines are licensed and recommended to prevent shingles in the u s. Currently on the enbrel drug among others.

It s important to complete the course and receive both injections. Most adults have been exposed to varicella zoster virus which causes chickenpox. The nasal spray version contains live virus so it s not recommended for people with weakened immune systems. People with rheumatoid arthritis ra have roughly twice the risk of healthy older adults of developing shingles a virus related to chickenpox that causes pain and a blistering rash.

I am treating it also however is there a pronounced connection to enbrel treatment and the appearance to shingle. Anti tnf drugs like infliximab remicade and etanercept enbrel can significantly increase your risk of developing shingles. Your doctor might also recommend the pneumonia vaccine and the shingles vaccine. Zoster vaccine live zvl zostavax has been in use since 2006.

Talk to your rheumatologist about that. First rheumatoid disease patients taking methotrexate azathriopine or prednisone may take the shingles vaccine if they re taking specific small dosages of those drugs according to an article in a recent issue of rheumatology news. Members of a class of drugs called tnf alpha blockers nearly doubled the risk of herpes zoster better known as shingles among rheumatoid arthritis sufferers in a 5 040 patient german study. Even if you can you and your doctor may need to time the shot.

Some ra treatments besides biologics compromise the immune system and not everyone can safely take the live shingles vaccine. Shingrix is a non live recombinant subunit vaccine given intramuscularly in two doses spaced 2 to 6 months apart. I have been successfully treated for rheumatoid arthritis for the last 20 years.