Pamela, I don't suppose your mom has a baby book anywhere that she kept for you? It would be really good to know if you had chickenpox, as that's the main indicator of whether you're at risk. Here's what Medicine Net says about the possibility of contagion:
"Yes, shingles is contagious. Shingles can be spread from an affected person to children or adults who have not had chickenpox. But instead of developing shingles, these people develop chickenpox. Once they have had chickenpox, people cannot catch shingles (or contract the virus) from someone else. Once infected, however, people have the potential to develop shingles later in life.
"Shingles is contagious to people that have not previously had chickenpox, as long as there are new blisters forming and old blisters healing. Once all of the blisters are crusted over, the virus can no longer be spread."
If your mother is diagnosed with shingles, ask her doctor what precautions you need to take in order to avoid or lesson chances of contagion. And at the first sign of something that might be shingles -- tingling, pain and itching on the skin where nerves are, even before you see a rash or blisters -- go to the doctor yourself. An early case of shingles can be mitigated by medicine that won't help a later case.
It's good to be alert to these symptoms even if you find that you had chickenpox as a child. I had a serious bout of chickenpox at age 2, and yet I got a case of shingles in my late 30s. So it doesn't always act like doctors think it will.
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Pamela, I don't suppose your mom has a baby book anywhere that she kept for you? It would be really good to know if you had chickenpox, as that's the main indicator of whether you're at risk. Here's what Medicine Net says about the possibility of contagion:
"Yes, shingles is contagious. Shingles can be spread from an affected person to children or adults who have not had chickenpox. But instead of developing shingles, these people develop chickenpox. Once they have had chickenpox, people cannot catch shingles (or contract the virus) from someone else. Once infected, however, people have the potential to develop shingles later in life.
"Shingles is contagious to people that have not previously had chickenpox, as long as there are new blisters forming and old blisters healing. Once all of the blisters are crusted over, the virus can no longer be spread."
If your mother is diagnosed with shingles, ask her doctor what precautions you need to take in order to avoid or lesson chances of contagion. And at the first sign of something that might be shingles -- tingling, pain and itching on the skin where nerves are, even before you see a rash or blisters -- go to the doctor yourself. An early case of shingles can be mitigated by medicine that won't help a later case.
http://www.medicinenet.com/shingles/article.htm
It's good to be alert to these symptoms even if you find that you had chickenpox as a child. I had a serious bout of chickenpox at age 2, and yet I got a case of shingles in my late 30s. So it doesn't always act like doctors think it will.
November 3, 2008 - 10:52amThis Comment
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