Health Experts Encourage Filipinos to Be Vigilant Against Shingles

GlaxoSmithKline's Sabi Nila, a campaign about Shingles

Did you know that 86% of adults significantly underestimate shingles risk and potential severity? GSK and health professionals collaborated to establish a countrywide awareness campaign about shingles, a devastating viral infection. The campaign aims to educate the public on its dangers, impact, and prevention. Shingles are often neglected, although they can lead to serious consequences can occur if not treated appropriately, especially in elderly persons. At age 50, the chance of developing shingles increases significantly.

Shingles, or Herpes Zoster, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. Exposure to the chickenpox virus can lead to shingles, as the virus can remain latent in nerve tissue for years before reactivating.

Host Issa Litton; Infectious Diseases Specialist, Dr. Rontgene Solante; Dermatologist, Dr. Gaile Robredo-Vitas; and Geenette Garcia, Suffered from Shingles 4-times; during the panel discussion of “Sabi Nila: The Truth About Shingles” media launch.

The campaign attempts to increase awareness of the condition, its influence on quality of life, and the significance of contacting a doctor for disease prevention. The project aims to clarify myths and give accurate information from healthcare experts and those who have experienced the condition.

Shingles causes a painful skin rash that often blisters and scabs over in 10 – 15 days. 4-5 According to dermatologist Dr. Irene Robredo-Vitas “karamihan talaga ng may shingles and unang una talagang nakakakita ay mga dermatologist”.

Shingles, in addition to causing a rash, has the potential to cause catastrophic problems. Approximately 30% of shingles sufferers will develop chronic nerve discomfort. One in every four shingles sufferers may develop an infection around their eyes, potentially leading to blindness.

According to an infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Rontgene Solante, “shingles is not just an ordinary rash. It has complications that can lead to higher morbidity. It can lead to depression, anxiety, and it can also affect your vision. He further added “a characteristic of shingles is that may tumutubo na mga rashes in one side of the body lang, but the more important characteristic is — ito ay napakasakit. It’s very uncomfortable to the point na yung iba, nahirapan silang mag damit, nahihirapan sila gawin housework nila, daily chores nila because of the severe pain.”

Karen Davila, a journalist and shingles patient, presented her personal experience to highlight the necessity of raising awareness about the condition. I felt depressed. Scared and humiliated. "I have had it twice. I felt depressed, scared, and honestly ashamed. I would not want anybody to go through it."

There are myths and misconceptions surrounding shingles, and one of them is that it is a sexually transmitted disease. According to Dr. Rontgene Solante, “Hindi sexually transmitted ang shingles. because the shingles virus is the same virus that causes chickenpox. When you get older, your immune system goes down and that’s when the chickenpox virus reactivates and can become shingles.”

What most people do not know is that a person's immune system diminishes with age, putting those over 50 at danger, regardless of their overall health. Thus, it is critical to see a healthcare practitioner regarding shingles prevention. But we can do something about it.. Today, we can avoid shingles.

The shingles awareness campaign seeks to arm the public with knowledge through educational materials from health experts. This effort also aims to dispel myths and provide accurate, reliable information, enabling Filipinos to make informed decisions about their health.

These are things to remember with Shingles:

• Herpes zoster is a common, painful and potentially debilitating illness.
• Complications of herpes zoster can be severe.
• There is no good treatment for post-herpetic neuralgia.
• Herpes zoster is MORE than just a simple rash.
• There is an urgent need for an intervention that prevents both Herpes Zoster and PHN (Postherpetic neuralgia, the most common long-term complication of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation. 

Consult your doctor for more information about shingles, and visit www.whatisshingles.ph to learn more. 

LOST: A Pneumococcal and Rotavirus Disease Awareness Campaign by GlaxoSmithKline

Based on worldwide studies, the top two causes of mortality and morbidity among children less than 5 years old are pneumonia and diarrhea. Here in the Philippines, according to the National statistics, there are 37 Filipino children who die each day because of pneumonia alone. The good news is we can all do something to prevent it from happening. A campaign called "No Hope Lost" has been launched for awareness and prevention of both the dreaded  pneumonia and diarrhea.

Pneumonia is a disease of the lungs characterized especially by inflammation and consolidation of lung tissue followed by resolution and by fever, chills, cough, and difficulty in breathing and that is caused especially by infection. Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacterium S. Pneumoniae also known as pneumococcus which may result in life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia. It can also result to Acute Otitis Media (AOM) which is an ear infection, a common and highly prevalent disease. It also includes severe diseases such as meningitis, complicated pneumonia, and sepsis (blood poisoning), which occur when the pneumococcus "invades" the blood. The invasive forms of the pneumococcal disease are a category called Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD). 

Diarrhea on the other hand is the second leading killer of children under 5 years old which had 1.4 million child deaths annually. Rotavirus Gastroenteritis (RGVE) is the common cause of diarrhea and severe dehydration in young children. Rotavirus infects every child within the first 5 years of life, irrespective of race or socio-economic status. 

I can totally relate as my son Kyle had also suffered from pneumonia on his right lung when he was five years old. We had no idea that he had pneumonia. And we sort of found out about it only at the time he was brought to the hospital after symptoms of German Measles came out of him. After he was checked by his pediatrician, we were surprised he asked for an x-ray test. And that's how we learned Kyle had pneumonia. That was more six years ago. Today, I thank God that Kyle has grown up to be healthy and is now on his pre-teen years. I knew no parent would want to see their kid suffer from these lethal diseases. We'd try our best to protect our kids in whatever way we can. Cliche as it may sound, but prevention is always better than cure. And as parents, we had the power to keep our children safe and healthy. Both diseases, rotavirus and pneumonia are highly preventable. Early protection is the key to reduce the disease burden. 

During the "No Hope Lost" launch held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination Director, stressed, "You can protect your child by means of breastfeeding, hand-washing, preventing air pollution, adequate nutrition and through vaccination. The earlier a child gets vaccinated, the better. Babies can get vaccinated in as early as 6 weeks." 

"It' s the best time to raise awareness on pneumonia and diarrhea prevention. These diseases should not cause unnecessary suffering to young children. Sometimes it's just that parents don't know enough about these diseases, and they don't know that there are actually vaccines for them," adds Dr. Gatchalian. 

The Philippine government has already acknowledged and addressed this by launching Rotavirus Vaccine as part of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) where a total of 700,000 Filipino children aged 6 weeks up to 6 months of age were able to received free rotavirus vaccines. In 2013, the Department of Health leveled up this program as they introduced yet another novel vaccine called Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in the EPI.

 Dr. Gatchalian also debunked the myths linking vaccination to autism. "There is NO TRUTH to that. Lancet has withdrawn the data hullabaloo finding on linking MMR vaccination and autism. I would like to make it clear that vaccination had no effect or whatsoever on autism. it is such a kaput issue, the doctor who created such issue no longer had his medical license to begin with," explains Dr. Gatchalian. 

GlaxoSmithKline or GSK, known as the world's leading researched-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies continues its commitment to partner with health practitioners and the government in the fight against childhood diseases such as rotavirus and pneumonia. The "No Hope is Lost" campaign embodies the need for immediate action for children to be vaccinated against pneumonia and diarrhea. 

"With the help of our dear pediatricians, and the Department of Health, we our committed ti the reduction if pneumonia and diarrhea cases nationwide by supplying quality vaccines. These diseases account for an alarming almost 50 mortalities per day in the Philippines. GSK is here to support the Filipino medical community and the government's drive to make health services accessible to everyone," added Philip Cruz, GSK Medical Director.

To lose a child is the most heartbreaking experience a mother can ever have. Hope is within our own hands, we could prevent the loss of our children and fight against pneumonia and diarrhea through vaccination--these are diseases that are now vaccine-preventable.