Shingles and Chickenpox Questions-VERY NERVOUS!!

[Guest guest]

Hello, I am VERY nervous and I need to know some info on chickenpox and shingles

right away. Can someone get chicken pox from someone who has shingles? Can you

get shingles from being near someone and touching stuff they touched? My husband

had the pox as a kid and spent all day yesterday working with and touching all

the same stuff as someone who was just diagnosed with shingles. I have never had

the pox and my 8 and 5 year old have not either. They are both unvaccinated. My

biggest worry though is I have an 8 week old daughter. If hubby can get shingles

(since he had the pox) from this guy who has shingles, can he give the rest of

us the pox since none of us have had it?

[Guest guest]

You can get chicken pox from shingles. They are the same virus, but one is

primary (chicken pox) and one is a secondary type. Varicella is the chicken pox.

You develop immunity from them once you have them, but the virus can be latent &

then resurface as shingles (zoster virus). Catching the virus from someone with

the shingles is much less common, but in nursing they teach us that it can

happen. It is not as highly contagious as the chicken pox. My friend's little

boy just had chicken pox at 6 mos & did great. There is an immunoglobulin

injection if you're really concerned, but chicken pox is not necessarily a bad

thing. In my experience, if a young baby gets them, it's much less severe, but

again, you never really know how it will manifest. If you have a healthy immune

system, you of course have a better outcome. Personally, I would love to expose

my 19 mo old to someone with chicken pox or shingles so that he can get them and

get over them befor entering school and be fully protected, especially since

many schools require and parents get that stinking varicella vaccine which is

live at 1 year! Good luck!

Geri in KY

Shingles and Chickenpox Questions-VERY NERVOUS!!

>

>Hello, I am VERY nervous and I need to know some info on chickenpox and

shingles right away. Can someone get chicken pox from someone who has shingles?

Can you get shingles from being near someone and touching stuff they touched? My

husband had the pox as a kid and spent all day yesterday working with and

touching all the same stuff as someone who was just diagnosed with shingles. I

have never had the pox and my 8 and 5 year old have not either. They are both

unvaccinated. My biggest worry though is I have an 8 week old daughter. If hubby

can get shingles (since he had the pox) from this guy who has shingles, can he

give the rest of us the pox since none of us have had it?

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[Guest guest]

Do you need to touch the actual skin of the person to get it or can touching

things they touched give it to you? Also, if it is a virus, can you get it from

breathing or coughing or sneezing? I am not worried about my 5 and 8 year olds,

but I am afraid that 8 WEEKS old is too young and I have also been warned that I

can get it really bad if I catch it as an adult. I was tested for immunity when

I was pregnant and the results came back that I may or may not be immune-I

forget the word they used.

[Guest guest]

Don't know much about the shingles connection, I just wanted to reassure you.

One of my children had chix pox as a small infant and was fine. In fact, it was

better than when they were school age since she just seemed to roll with it and

didn't try to itch.

>

> Do you need to touch the actual skin of the person to get it or can touching

things they touched give it to you? Also, if it is a virus, can you get it from

breathing or coughing or sneezing? I am not worried about my 5 and 8 year olds,

but I am afraid that 8 WEEKS old is too young and I have also been warned that I

can get it really bad if I catch it as an adult. I was tested for immunity when

I was pregnant and the results came back that I may or may not be immune-I

forget the word they used.

>

[Guest guest]

Here's a good summary:

http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/healthaz/Shingles-Zoster.aspx?articleID=8848 & categ\

oryID=AZ1j

You must physically touch it. Only chicken pox, the primary virus is contagious

via airborne & droplet.

Geri

Re: Shingles and Chickenpox Questions-VERY NERVOUS!!

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>Do you need to touch the actual skin of the person to get it or can touching

things they touched give it to you? Also, if it is a virus, can you get it from

breathing or coughing or sneezing? I am not worried about my 5 and 8 year olds,

but I am afraid that 8 WEEKS old is too young and I have also been warned that I

can get it really bad if I catch it as an adult. I was tested for immunity when

I was pregnant and the results came back that I may or may not be immune-I

forget the word they used.

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

From: sassykidsboutique

Date: 14/07/2009 10:01:50 PM

Vaccinations

Subject: Re: Shingles and Chickenpox Questions-VERY NERVOUS!!

Do you need to touch the actual skin of the person to get it or can touching

things they touched give it to you? Also, if it is a virus, can you get it

from breathing or coughing or sneezing? I am not worried about my 5 and 8

year olds, but I am afraid that 8 WEEKS old is too young and I have also

been warned that I can get it really bad if I catch it as an adult. I was

tested for immunity when I was pregnant and the results came back that I may

or may not be immune-I forget the word they used.

*** If you subscribe to the whole concept of viruses and how they are

passed on, then the virus in this instance would be passed by contact with

the exudate of the shingles pustules. So unless the shingles pustules are

actually weeping, there is no issue. Simply touching something the shingles

sufferer has touched is insufficient to pass the virus along.

Chickenpox is transmitted by the infected person coughing or sneezing, or

again, by contact with the exudate from the chickenpox blisters. Slightly

more easy to " catch " , I would say.

Are you breastfeeding your baby? If so, it is unlikely that he/she will

catch chickenpox, because breastmilk is loaded with immune factors to

protect them, even if you haven't had chickenpox yourself. Chickenpox can

be bad at any age, but largely depends on whether or not medications such as

ibuprofen or Tylenol are used. Using such medications can increase the

severity of the illness because they affect the way the body handles the

illness.

The chances are that you have been exposed to chickenpox many times in your

life, and if you haven't developed it, it is because you are not susceptible

for some reason. And there's no reason to suspect that is going to change.

Many of us walk around with the pneumonia bug, or the meningitis bug or

anything else you care to mention harmlessly in our noses and throats, and

never develop the illness. You have to be susceptible in the first place.

Try not to be fearful - it helps nothing and actually lowers your immunity,

making you more vulnerable. Que sera, sera....

Sue x