WKRG Special Project featuring Ashleigh Butts-Wilkerson, M.D. | Shingles: Your age doesn't matter
Ashleigh Butts-Wilkerson, M.D., family medicine physician with Infirmary Health's Diagnostic & Medical Clinic, was recently featured in a special project on WKRG News about shingles, how age is not always a factor as well as how you can lessen the severity of the disease.
“We tend to get better results with our treatment if we start it within that first 48 to 72 hours of an actual shingles outbreak,” said Butts-Wilkerson, speaking to WKRG's Cherish Lombard. Lombard became a victim of shingles when, as a young adult, she woke up one morning and couldn’t open her left eye. Then a blister formed, followed by more blisters spreading up her forehead, into her scalp, and down the side of her face. She was hospitalized for weeks, with excruciating pain shooting from those areas down her spine.
“Shingrix is approved for those who are 50 and older, and it’s also approved for patients who are 19 and older if they have an immunocompromising condition,” Butts-Wilkerson said.
She also says she cautions her patients to know the signs and symptoms of shingles and not to hesitate to call a physician if they believe they are experiencing a shingles outbreak.
