Shingles vaccine, if you don't feel like clicking through.
blooalien 54 minutes ago [-]
Thank you.
antaviana 3 minutes ago [-]
So if you had shingles in your youth then you are better protected against dementia?
robot_jesus 1 hours ago [-]
I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses.
Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of shingles?
It makes sense to have targets like age 50 for population-wide public health recommendations. But it can and does infect people of much earlier ages.
Recent articles like this make me think I'll go ahead.
andy99 36 minutes ago [-]
I read before that iirc because of waning protection it’s better not to get it too early. It’s not clear to me why you can’t get it twice, but what I read (and it was some online discussion so could be wrong) was that someone had been specifically told by their doctor to wait to 50 as the best spot to get it. I’d like to know more, I’m in my 40s and would be happy to get it now too but not if it was going to be worse overall for some reason.
anonym29 30 minutes ago [-]
The antibodies you develop to fight the virus fade over time. I just had it fairly recently (young 30s, vaccinated with the attenuated chickenpox virus, never had chickenpox, so this was likely the vaccine strain¹). Did a lot of reading and research during and after. The antibodies seem to offer good protection for 5-10 years following either vaccination or infection according to the literature I was reading.
¹ The vaccine strain tends to be much more mild than the wild strain, and indeed it was quite unpleasant, but not extremely painful for me. The wild strain is considerably more painful and linked to a greater incidence rate of complications. Please do not skip chickenpox vaccinations for your kids, the minor risk of latent infection from attenuated vaccine is far less harmful than the consequences of not vaccinating. Most important of all, if you have a cluster of blisters or rash on one side of your body that keep popping up, make sure to see a doctor and get on antivirals within the first 72 hours for best results.
tptacek 34 minutes ago [-]
Wait, you can just pay for the shingles vaccine, before you're 50? Where do I do that?
I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.
Aurornis 11 minutes ago [-]
You can get basically any medication or vaccination you want in the US as long as you can find a doctor to write the prescription.
We even have anabolic steroids that were approved for muscle wasting in cancer patients, but if you can find a doctor willing to write the prescription and a pharmacy that won’t question it, anyone can have pharmacy grade Anavar for the gym, completely legal. In theory the doctor writing the prescription is putting their license at risk, but enforcement is so lax that there are “anti-aging” clinics all over that will prescribe testosterone and Anavar to anyone with a credit card.
So with a documented history of shingles you should have no problem getting a prescription written. It would be worth a quick check with your insurance company because it might even be covered if your doctor will fill out the form and attach evidence of the past diagnosis.
mlyle 35 minutes ago [-]
I got shingles at 45 and it was -not fun-. My arm is slightly disfigured.
I think the age 50 target is dated. With reduced childhood incidence of chicken pox, we're all exposed to varicella zoster less, and it seems like the ages of incidence of shingles is falling. Public health recommendations are slow to catch up with research (especially for vaccinations, these days).
copperx 37 minutes ago [-]
Shingles terrifies me because it can cause hearing loss. I spoke to my GP and he wouldn't give me a script for it even though I'm 3 years away from qualifying. He mentioned side effects.
cyanydeez 57 minutes ago [-]
aside from age ranges being the tested population, your just gambling no other interference pattern is involved.
28 minutes ago [-]
hereme888 47 minutes ago [-]
Replicated association, which is strong, but not proof. Initial study saw a 3.5% absolute reduction in dementia diagnoses over seven years with a very wide confidence interval. In Australia the study was replicated with 1.8% absolute reduction over 7.4 yrs. Canadian replication: 2% over 5.5 yrs.
Infections generally increase the risk of future dementia. Like the more colds you have throughout life.
gruez 38 minutes ago [-]
>Replicated association [...]
"association" undersells it a bit, because the data is better than the typical cohort study, which has issues like "what if people who got the vaccine are also richer and care about their health more?". There's quasi-randomization going on. From the more in depth article that's linked:
>Research is also revealing unexpected interventions that help to keep ageing minds sharp. One of the most promising derives from an analysis by Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University and his team of a natural experiment in Wales. In 2013 the British region started offering people aged 70-79 free vaccinations through the public-health system. This change resembled an RCT, in that a large number of people were separated almost at random into two groups: those who had already turned 80 in the weeks before the programme started, and so were not eligible to be jabbed; and those who turned 80 in the weeks after, roughly half of whom were duly vaccinated.
alfiedotwtf 12 minutes ago [-]
> like the more colds you have in life
Whoa wait what? This is the first time I’ve heard of this - is this actually common knowledge?
syntaxing 34 minutes ago [-]
I know quite a few people who got shingles in their early 20s. One of their doctors didn’t believe she had shingles until the blisters formed. The vaccine can definitely help those younger than 50, dementia benefits or not. Some of them have permanent nerve damage after getting shingles.
satya71 1 hours ago [-]
TL;DR Shingles vaccines reduces chances of dementia by 20%. Yet, most countries health systems only look at the upfront cost of ~$300 and don’t recommend for all who could benefit.
MASNeo 48 minutes ago [-]
In a separate article the other factors are quoted with similar impact (listed in order of max potential magnitude)
- anti depression treatment
- education increases
- hearing improvement
- obesity reduction
- low alcohol
The earlier you start the better.
WalterGR 22 minutes ago [-]
> hearing improvement
This means addressing hearing loss, e.g. via hearing aids.
Injecting people with a shingles vaccine is far easier than the others you listed, which is why it stands out.
tptacek 11 minutes ago [-]
That may be the case in other countries, but in the US we're generally fee-for-service, so the incentives are reversed, and we still don't give it until you're 50 (which, as someone who has had it and is under 50, annoys me to no end).
hatsunearu 35 minutes ago [-]
Should I get the shingles vaccine at a young age? I've had chickenpox earlier in my life.
SoftTalker 47 minutes ago [-]
20% of what?
swed420 45 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
timcobb 35 minutes ago [-]
most people can't really get a worthwhile quality of life like that. maybe life is worthwhile to you walking around in an N95 respirator, but not to me, at least not... indefinitely. I'd rather be dead TBH. IMO it makes sense to wait to die to be dead. Why be dead while you're still technically alive? What are you trying to optimize for? Days you woke up?
And for transparency, I am triple vaccinated (maybe more, I lost count), have had 0 covid infections as far as I know, masked for a long time while it seemed to make sense.
swed420 20 minutes ago [-]
You seem to lack reading comprehension.
Vaccines won't save you.
Almost half of infections have no symptoms but still carry longterm risks.
OutOfHere 23 minutes ago [-]
Your comment is completely unfair. You are entirely dismissive of those who are not ignorant of long Covid and of those who have experienced the hell that Covid could be.
And you'd rather be dead? Careful what you wish for.
timcobb 20 minutes ago [-]
I didn't wish for anything, I stated my calculus, and I'm pretty comfortable with it.
Not sure what's unfair about my comment, let alone completely.
OutOfHere 6 minutes ago [-]
Your calculus doesn't relate to anyone else. It is like a billionaire saying that poverty doesn't exist.
OutOfHere 25 minutes ago [-]
I wear a P95, not for Covid, but because I simply don't like getting sick even with a cold. Also, it blocks pollution which is independently important for the brain.
xyzsparetimexyz 41 minutes ago [-]
Lmao
swed420 40 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
gruez 34 minutes ago [-]
What are either of those links supposed to imply?
swed420 21 minutes ago [-]
The levels that capital interests stooped to, and it worked. Nobody was given an alternative, nor the facts that would motivate searching for one.
mecdu92 30 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
zyralab 37 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
mecdu92 29 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
gruez 26 minutes ago [-]
" Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. "
Most people, especially those under the vaccination age of 50, with a weak immune system don't supplement a correct dose of basic immune boosting supplements like vitamin D3 (4-6 KIU), zinc (15-25 mg), selenium (200 mcg), and beta glucan, which typically is why they have a weak immune system in the first place. Of course the big medicine industry doesn't want you to look after yourself, and would much rather prefer you rather die with a million dollars billed to your insurance.
Rendered at 17:32:13 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of shingles?
It makes sense to have targets like age 50 for population-wide public health recommendations. But it can and does infect people of much earlier ages.
Recent articles like this make me think I'll go ahead.
¹ The vaccine strain tends to be much more mild than the wild strain, and indeed it was quite unpleasant, but not extremely painful for me. The wild strain is considerably more painful and linked to a greater incidence rate of complications. Please do not skip chickenpox vaccinations for your kids, the minor risk of latent infection from attenuated vaccine is far less harmful than the consequences of not vaccinating. Most important of all, if you have a cluster of blisters or rash on one side of your body that keep popping up, make sure to see a doctor and get on antivirals within the first 72 hours for best results.
I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.
We even have anabolic steroids that were approved for muscle wasting in cancer patients, but if you can find a doctor willing to write the prescription and a pharmacy that won’t question it, anyone can have pharmacy grade Anavar for the gym, completely legal. In theory the doctor writing the prescription is putting their license at risk, but enforcement is so lax that there are “anti-aging” clinics all over that will prescribe testosterone and Anavar to anyone with a credit card.
So with a documented history of shingles you should have no problem getting a prescription written. It would be worth a quick check with your insurance company because it might even be covered if your doctor will fill out the form and attach evidence of the past diagnosis.
I think the age 50 target is dated. With reduced childhood incidence of chicken pox, we're all exposed to varicella zoster less, and it seems like the ages of incidence of shingles is falling. Public health recommendations are slow to catch up with research (especially for vaccinations, these days).
Infections generally increase the risk of future dementia. Like the more colds you have throughout life.
"association" undersells it a bit, because the data is better than the typical cohort study, which has issues like "what if people who got the vaccine are also richer and care about their health more?". There's quasi-randomization going on. From the more in depth article that's linked:
>Research is also revealing unexpected interventions that help to keep ageing minds sharp. One of the most promising derives from an analysis by Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University and his team of a natural experiment in Wales. In 2013 the British region started offering people aged 70-79 free vaccinations through the public-health system. This change resembled an RCT, in that a large number of people were separated almost at random into two groups: those who had already turned 80 in the weeks before the programme started, and so were not eligible to be jabbed; and those who turned 80 in the weeks after, roughly half of whom were duly vaccinated.
Whoa wait what? This is the first time I’ve heard of this - is this actually common knowledge?
The earlier you start the better.
This means addressing hearing loss, e.g. via hearing aids.
Injecting people with a shingles vaccine is far easier than the others you listed, which is why it stands out.
And for transparency, I am triple vaccinated (maybe more, I lost count), have had 0 covid infections as far as I know, masked for a long time while it seemed to make sense.
Vaccines won't save you.
Almost half of infections have no symptoms but still carry longterm risks.
And you'd rather be dead? Careful what you wish for.
Not sure what's unfair about my comment, let alone completely.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html