Firsthand—experiences with aging
Shingles, as you may know, is a malady of aging, rarely fatal but very painful for weeks on end. Also, it can reoccur. All those who have had childhood chickenpox carry the dormant virus that can be reactivated, at age 50 and beyond, by mechanisms not well understood. Shingles can occur anywhere on the body, head to foot, and when on one’s face can cause vision loss. Almost one out of three people in the U.S. will develop shingles in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are two vaccines that can prevent shingles. I knew that but put off taking action, though advised by my doc to do so.
My personal trip into shingles-land started with a red rash that did not hurt but was spreading. I decided to see my doc for medication and learned that my “rash” was actually shingles. Over the next days the rash spread, became quite painful, and super sensitive to anything that touched it. More trouble: chills, fatigue, and expected duration of 2–4 weeks (likely longer if complicated by cancer treatment or a weakened immune system.) The medication prescribed helped a lot but was accompanied by side effects to deal with.
A final word: if you had childhood chickenpox or do not remember, GO SOON to your primary care doc and get vaccinated. For further study, I found a very helpful article in the January 2016 Mayo Clinic Health Letter, healthletter.mayoclinic.com/issues/january-2016/shingles.
The more you know, the better, in my humble opinion.
—Earl Nolting
Editor’s note: The newer, two-dose Shingrix vaccine is currently out of stock throughout the Twin Cities metro area. The CDC recommends Shingrix for all adults age 50 and older, even those who have had shingles or received the single-dose, Zotavax vaccine, in use since 2006. To monitor availability of the Shingrix vaccine, go to shingrix.com and click on the Vaccine Locator tab at the top of the homepage. — Updated November 5, 2018
This is the first in a new, occasional series of articles. If you would like to share a firsthand experience related to health and aging, please submit a brief essay to Ron Anderson, interim chair, UMRA Cares Committee, at [email protected].
News
Since retiring from the College of Biological Sciences faculty, UMRA member Kathryn Hanna has pursued her longtime interest in the arts and antiques and is currently the co-president of the Fan Association of North America, a nonprofit organization of hand fan collectors.
October 1 marks the start of the 2025 competition for financial support from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program. Retirees from all five campuses within the U of M System are eligible to apply whether or not they are members of UMRA.
The Regents’ Special Committee on Academic Health is seeking feedback from the University community on a draft of the Health Sciences Strategic Plan drawn up by the deans of the University’s six health sciences schools and colleges.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 to June 30, and now there is a new and easy way to see whether you have already renewed for 2025. Look to the right of your name in the address field on page 12 of the September 2024 print newsletter you received, and you will see a four-digit year. If it says “2025,” it means you have renewed.
So, you have set up a new email account; set up your recovery emails and phone numbers for this new account (!!); moved your emails, contacts, and documents from Google Drive to the new account; notified all your friends and business associates. Now what??
Did you check all of your online accounts? Any that use the old UMN account will need changes -- you may need to change the login, or the contact info, or both -- to the new email address. This article lists other details to consider.
For those of us who have not yet taken the leap to abandon our umn.edu email and Google Workspace accounts before the December 7 deadline, there are three basic things we need to do to get going.
UMRA member Susan Kubitschek attended the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill and, after working at the U for 40 years, retired as assistant dean and director of Collegiate Life in the College of Science and Engineering.
Delegates to the Big Ten Retirees Association 2024 annual conference met at The Ohio State University in July to learn about Ohio State, share ideas, and develop closer ties among the 28 attendees from 12 of the 14 Big Ten schools. Minnesota will host the conference in 2026.
“UMRA members are engaged ‘University citizens’ with decades of experience at every level of this great institution, and we want to have a mutually useful and effective relationship with the Board of Regents,” says John Finnegan, UMRA’s new liaison to the regents.
UMRA member Mike Austin is taking full advantage of his retirement to volunteer in a variety of activities, travel, and learn a new language. He says, “I have the time, I have the ability, and I get bored sitting around.”
Members of UMRA’s 2024–25 Board of Directors were elected in May. Directors are elected to three-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms.
Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available to support U of M retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarship, or creative interests.