HAVING asthma could weaken immunity and increase your risk of developing painful shingles, warns new study.
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| Scientists have linked asthma to shingles |
The latest research has revealed adults who have a history of asthma are more likely to contract the viral disease shingles.
More specifically, adults with an asthmatic history were 70 per cent MORE likely to develop shingles.
Dr. Young Juhn general academic pediatrician and asthma epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic Children’s Research Center said: “The effect of asthma on the risk of infection or immune dysfunction might very well go beyond the airways.”
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| Asthmatics were 70 per cent more likely to develop asthma in adulthood |
The research team also discovered a link between atopic eczema (the most common form of eczema) and a higher risk of shingles.
Scientists believe that asthma and eczema suppress immunity, it may increase the risk of reactivating the shingles virus.
As such, they’ve suggested more adults should be given a vaccine for shingles.
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| Asthma is said to weaken immunity and leave people more susceptible to the shingle virus |
Dr. Juhn added: "As asthma is an unrecognised risk factor for [shingles] in adults, consideration should be given to immunising adults aged 50 years and older with asthma or atopic dermatitis as a target group for [shingles] vaccination."
For the study, researchers looked at the medical history of 371 shingles-positive residents aged 50 or older and compared them to a control group.
This isn’t the first study to associate a link between the condition - a similar study on children in Olmsted County, Minnesota also highlighted the heightened risk of shingles for asthmatics.
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| This isn’t the first study to associate a link between the condition |
Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus - the virus that causes chickenpox.
If the chickenpox virus becomes reactivated in later life it can cause shingles.
It is not contagious, but can cause immense pain in the affected area, headaches, a general feeling of being unwell and a fever, according to the NHS.
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