A commuter shares that the “Stop Shingles” posters seen in MRT stations a few months ago left little impact on him until he personally experienced the condition.
Reflecting on his own battle with shingles in November, he recalls that the posters failed to resonate or deliver a clear message. “They didn’t explain how to stop shingles or even what the condition truly entails,” he says. His concerns were echoed by a friend who, after seeing the online version of the poster, asked, “How do you stop it?”
When the commuter informed friends and family about his shingles outbreak, the responses ranged from casual remarks like “you ate the wrong food!” to more general comments such as “there’s been an outbreak of shingles recently.” Interestingly, despite the higher risk of shingles among those over 50, many people who shared their experiences with him had developed the condition before reaching middle age.
Shingles is notorious for its debilitating nerve pain, a symptom that even some healthcare professionals seemed to misunderstand. “The stabbing, stinging pain is relentless, 24/7, and it can recur,” he explains. He notes that depending on an individual’s pain tolerance, many hours can be lost while waiting for the condition to heal.
This experience led him to question the real meaning behind the “Stop Shingles” campaign. “How to stop shingles?” he asks, pointing out that the most effective prevention currently available is the Shingrix vaccine. However, the vaccine is costly, and he believes it should be more accessible to the public through subsidies.
He urges that greater public education is needed—not only on the symptoms and medical treatments available but also on general prevention strategies. For him, a more informative and effective campaign could have made a significant difference in his own understanding and approach to shingles prevention before he was affected.
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