Mark asks…
Shingles, how contagious is it?
My parents has a friend who recently came down with the shingles (diagnosed today). They were recently at her house a couple of days ago, and she had some lesions on her leg. They never had any physical contact with her when they had seen her, but did spend a few hours with her in her house and had dinner. I have two young children who have not had the chicken pox, one of which is on aspirin (for a heart condition). How contagious is the shingles, could my parents be carrying the virus and could they pass it on to my children if they visit? I worry because of my one child who is on aspirin, she’s 4 and her doctors have told me to be very cautious due to Reyes’ Syndrome.
admin answers:
Shingles is only contagious via direct contact with the lesions. If there was no contact then the likelihood of developing chickenpox is low. That being said, chickenpox itself is extremely contagious. So if one child develops chickenpox, the other child is likely to develop it as well.
With regards to reye’s syndrome, i believe the major risk for liver toxicity is when the child is on asprin and has influenza, not chickenpox which is caused by a different virus. I would definitely consult with your pedatrician if your child develops chickenpox though.
Robert asks…
how long does it take to be over shingles and is it contagious?
reason for asking is that I have children and I pray that it won’t pass to them as one child is only 3 months old
admin answers:
Shingles (otherwise known as Herpes Zoster) is a painful, blistering rash caused by the chickenpox (varicella) virus, which affects only a limited area of skin, and makes you feel surprisingly tired, run down, and even depressed.
You cannot do much to avoid shingles. It is not caught from contact with someone with shingles or with chickenpox.
If you have shingles you should stay away from other people until the blisters have dried (usually about seven days), as there are virus particles in the blister fluid. The risk is that people who have not had chickenpox might catch that from you.
Those at particular risk are people whose immune system is not functioning normally (who are immunocompromised), as for example in people on steroids, chemotherapy for cancer or those with transplants or with AIDS, so do try to avoid contact with people in these categories if you have shingles.
See a medical professional to relate your concern, and look out for potential symptoms from your child.
Daniel asks…
Can you get shingles from exposure to chicken pox?
I know shingles happens later in life to people who have already had chicken pox, but what causes it to re-activate? It is possible for a person who has already had chicken pox to get shingles from being around a child who has chicken pox? My nephew was recovering from chicken pox (we were told he was no longer contagious) and my daughter had a friend over, now the friend has shingles, and I’m afraid it’s our fault.
admin answers:
My father-in-law is actually just recovering from shingles. Apparently, chickenpox come from a type of herpes virus. This stays in your system until later in life, when it randomly flares up again.
Supposedly, once the virus is in your system, you can’t be re-infected. If you were told he wasn’t contagious anymore, it may have just been a coincidence. Either way, you can’t have known that she was going to get sick.
If it were common, parents would be sick far more often from their children getting chickenpox.
Steven asks…
Can we catch shingles?
My husbands boss just found out she has shingles. Both of us have had chicken pox as kids, but we have 2 small children also. Is it contagious to any of us? I’m worried my husband might get it and bring it home to all of us….I know the kids can’t get shingles, but they can get chickenpox im just wondering if its spread through contact or airborne…
admin answers:
Have your children had a varicella immunization? That’s chickenpox.
You can spread it but it would be kind of unlikely. I guess your husband should just use a lot of hand sanitizer. It is only contagious if the boss scratches his wounds and then doesn’t wash his hands and shakes his husband’s hand and then your husband goes home and touches the kids without washing….just an example.
James asks…
Had chicken pox, now exposed to shingles = at risk?
I had the chicken pox as a child, and now I’ve been exposed to someone who has shingles. I’ve read that you can only get shingles from stress, etc and that it is not contagious, but you can get chicken pox from someone with shingles.
But if I’ve had chicken pox, I should be okay, right? Anyone know? Thanks!
admin answers:
When u have chicken pox, the virus settles in ur nerves and goes dormant. When ur around 60, it reactivates and causes shingles. Shingles are not contagious, so don’t worry about that. There’s a vaccine now: i cut and pasted some info for u and will put down source for further reading.
A vaccine to prevent shingles was approved by the FDA in May 2006 for use in people age 60 and older. As you may know, shingles is caused by the herpes zoster virus that is also responsible for chicken pox. The virus can lie dormant in the body for many years after a case of chicken pox and then reactivate for unknown reasons to stage a new attack. If you’ve had chicken pox, you have a 10 and 20 percent chance of someday developing shingles. The risk increases with age: of the one million cases that occur in the United States every year about half are in people over 60.
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