Can a Flu shot lead to Shingles?

Thank you for sharing your story, Anonymous. Contacting the CDC is a great idea and we appreciate you providing the link.

I too experienced the shingles (around my upper right torso with some running around my back) less than two weeks after receiving my flu shot this year(2010). I am 70 yrs. of age, and healthy. I get the flu shot every year and have never experienced this or any other negative reaction previously, other than the usual side effects. Just to ease my curiosity on whether the flu shot could indeed cause shingles....... I happened upon this site. Suppose now i will push my physician to carry the vaccination for shingles. She told that medicare does not cover this and the inoculation is only about 50%effective................but who cares, I will get it anyway even it is only 20%. My Understanding is, this painful rash is merely the beginning, many suffer with scarring and nerve ending truama which could last a year or more causing pain to occur on the shingles sight at any time.

Everyone suffering or who has suffered from this malady should notify the CDC(www.cdc.gov), My feeling is: This is more than coincidental; they are just unaware at present.

, if not the local health department should be able to assistme according to the CDC

I am 51 and had the flu shot on 10/06 in my left arm. The same day my right had became painful and I thought it was odd. Last Wednesday, a rash broke out on my arm. Today, I decided to go the doctor because I could not stand the pain. He diagnosed the problem as shingles. After reading all of the posts, I believe the flu shot created the issue and my doctor told me not to get a flu shot again. I've received the flu shot for several years and never had any problems; however, I did not take the H1N1 shot last year.

I am a 74 year old male and 3 days after receiving a flu shot I developed shingles.
I am in very good health and take no medications so I think the flu shot has to be the reason, however my doctor says it can't.
I also received the shingles shot a few years ago.
A lot of good that did.

I'm 76, too, and although I had received the Shingles vaccine a couple of years ago, I still got the Shingles one week after having the flu shot...a mild case as far as the pain, itching, and rash, but I am left three weeks later with exhaustion and muscle pain and weakness. Now here's a bit of irony: My husband's 79 year old cousin also got a full blown case of Shingles one week after her flu shot, and she is absolutely miserable, especially with the unbearable pain and is taking not only Valtrex but also Hydrocodone for the pain. She had just put off getting the Shingles vaccine. I think the connection may be our temporarily compromised immune system which is fighting the (dead) flu viruses thereby opening up the possibility of the latent Chicken Pox virus to re-emerge as Shingles. I'm checking with a doctor.

I tried reporting my shingles, but here in New Zealand the doctor has to do it for you. So I told my doctor about it but of course I was reassured (quite patronisingly) that there was no way the flu shot could lead to shingles and the whole thing went no further. Lame.

Shingles are certainly a painful condition and I'm sorry to read that so many of you are experiencing this. You can learn more about treatment from our shingles treatment reference page at https://www.empowher.com/condition/shingles/treatments and from this article: https://www.empowher.com/shingles/content/what-shingles

I just found out today that I have Shingles after thinking it was poison ivy for almost a week. I too had the 2010 flu vaccine just two weeks ago and my first thought was that I got it from getting the shot. After reading all of these posts, I'm going to say yes. I have had chicken pox as a child and I had the shot not the nasal spray. I am curious to see if we continue to keep seeing the same thing over and over again being reported. I would not have gotten the flu shot if I'd known it could cause shingles. Mine is a week into it and very painful.

Anon - The only way the CDC will know about adverse reactions is if they are reported, which you can do yourself. This link provide information about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System: http://vaers.hhs.gov/index I hope you, and others reading this, will report your experiences as it may help others in the future. Hope you are feeling better soon! Pat

HAD MY FLU SHOT 10 DAYS AGO. CAME DOWN WITH THE WORST STIFF NECK IN THE WORLD WITHIN 12 HOURS ALSO SEVERVE PAIN UNDER COLLAR BONE AND DOWN THE BACK INTO THE SHOULDER BLADE. LOTS OF HOT SHOWERS AND GOOD OLD BEN GAY HELPED THAT. NOW, 10 DAYS LATER, HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH SHINGLES IN MY HIP AND UPPER BUTTOCK AREA. RASH STARTED YESTERDAY. I DON'T CARE WHAT THE CDC SAYS, I BELIEVE THESE PROBLEMS ARE FROM THE FLU SHOT. WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY PUTTING INTO IT! 4 YEARS AGO I ENDED UP WITH A FROZEN SHOULDER FROM THE FLU SHOT. HAD 18 MONTHS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR THAT. CDC KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THAT EITHER I PRESUME.