4. Shingles vaccine

Maybe you already had shingles or herpes zoster in the past, but this is one of the vaccines every senior should get, and you should talk to your healthcare provider about it. This is especially true if you are 50 or older.

Shingles is a viral disease that generates a painful and blistering rash. It hardly results in death, but it can cause major consequences such as post-herpetic neuropathic pain and a condition called herpes zoster ophthalmicus. Older people and those with weaker immune systems are more likely to be admitted to the hospital for shingles.

Hopefully, you will not give shingles to your grandkids. But if they never had chickenpox or never got vaccinated for it, there is a chance to give them chickenpox if you have an active shingles infection.

Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus, the varicella-zoster virus. After you have been infected with chickenpox, as most people before 1980 have been, the virus will remain in your body and will stay dormant. If it ever becomes active again, it will cause shingles.