I asked Alanna Isobe, a pharmacist at Safeway in Kapahulu, if it is true you could go to any Safeway pharmacy to get the shot to prevent shingles.

"Yes, I just gave one a minute ago," Isobe said, noting that it went to an akamai lady taking initiative to avoid contracting shingles — caused by reactivated chicken-pox virus.

Shingles are rashes with tiny blisters, often painful or itchy. Long after the rash is gone, there can be horrible pain for years, causing fatigue and insomnia. If it affects the nose or eyelids, it can permanently damage the eyes, from lenses to retinas.

My teenage nephew Ryan got shingles, but it's a much worse affliction after age 60. One-third of patients in that age bracket report having shingles-related pain four months after treatment, and 2 percent continue to suffer more than five years.

Anti-viral drugs taken within three days of a shingles outbreak help a bit, but steroids like prednisone won't reduce long-term pain and may possibly spread the virus to the brain or liver.

Half of individuals age 85 and older will contract shingles during their lifetime.

With insurance, the shot is typically $15 to $50, though state workers aren't covered until age 65. Many doctors don't have it as it's hard to store, but you can get it for your doctor from pharmacies such as Times Kailua, City Pharmacy, Mina (Kapi'olani) and Safeway. Bring a small cooler to the pharmacy. Times Kailua pharmacist Jim Rexroat (whom I shoot hoops with) says that in a few months, he and other Times pharmacists will, like Isobe, be giving this and other shots.

Safeway also offers flu shots, tetanus shots, and even a shot that helps prevents cancer — human papillomavirus. HPV causes cervical cancer and genital warts. The shot works much better if administered before HPV is contracted. An amazing one out of five teens already has HPV, which is most common in the late teens and early 20s. About 4,000 women in the U.S. die yearly from cervical cancer.

Clinical trials show no serious adverse effects from the HPV shot, and more than 5 million doses have been distributed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that pre-teens get three shots at age 11 or 12: tetanus-diphtheria-whooping-cough, meningitis, and HPV, a three-shot series. Four out of five women will otherwise get HPV by age 50. It should be given to 13- to 26-year-olds who didn't get it at age 11 or 12, and can be given as early as age 9.

So be akamai — protect your keiki by age 12, and get the shingles shot yourself at or just after your 60th birthday.

Dr. Landis Lum is a familypractice physician for Kaiser Permanente and an associate clinical professor at the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine. Send your questions to: Prescriptions, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com; or fax 535-8170. This column is not intended to provide medical advice.