My mom has shingles - question

[Nette]

Originally Posted by disney1990

No, it is people that have HAD chickenpox. "After you have had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in your nerve roots and remains inactive until, in some people, it flares up again. When the virus becomes active again, you get shingles instead of chickenpox."

You CAN get shingles even if you had the CP vaccine. The CP vaccine is a LIVE vaccine with a weakened virus in it. So you still have the CP virus inside you and you can get shingles. The shingles vaccine is the SAME as the CP vaccine, but at a higher dose.

It should also be noted that the CP virus in the vaccine is NOT the same as the CP in the "wild". It's very similar so theoretically it should work against "wild" CP. I say, theoretically, because there are many cases where kids get CP anyway after being vaccinated.

Also, if you've never had CP or the CP vaccine, there is NO reason to get the shingles vaccine. You CAN'T get Shingles... you could potentially get CP though if you came in contact with someone's shingles blisters.

[disney1990]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

Shingles is only contagious to someone who has not had chicken pox (or the vaccine).

You said that it was only contagious to someone who has not had chicken pox.

I said, it is only contagious to someone has had chicken pox. If you have not had chicken pox, you cannot get shingles.

[Coconut36]

Originally Posted by disney1990

You said that it was only contagious to someone who has not had chicken pox.

I said, it is only contagious to someone has had chicken pox. If you have not had chicken pox, you cannot get shingles.

That doesn't make sense and I am thinking either we don't understand each other or you don't understand what shingles is and how someone gets it.

You can not give someone shingles. If you have had CP you can not contract shingles being around someone who has it. Shingles is the CP reactivating in the body..often triggered by immune response or high stress situations. It is not passed from person to person..is not airborne and can not be transmitted by touching the lesions (again..someone who has had chicken pox). Shingles is NOT contagious in the sense that you can give shingles to someone..you can't. You can however give chicken pox to someone when you have an active shingles infection if they are not vaccinated/immune. Anyone who has had CP or the CP vaccine is at risk of developing shingles yes..but shingles can not be "caught" nor is it transmitted from person to person.

If you have shingles you CAN give someone who has not had the CP vaccine or CP the CP virus..if someone non immune to chicken pox comes in contact with the lesions they end up with chicken pox.

Shingles is only contagious in situations where someone not immune to chicken pox comes in contact with the lesions..they will contract CP NOT shingles. So yes I was correct in stating shingles is only contagious to someone who has not had CP or the CP vaccine.

[disney1990]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

That doesn't make sense and I am thinking either we don't understand each other or you don't understand what shingles is and how someone gets it.

You can not give someone shingles. If you have had CP you can not contract shingles being around someone who has it. Shingles is the CP reactivating in the body..often triggered by immune response or high stress situations. It is not passed from person to person..is not airborne and can not be transmitted by touching the lesions (again..someone who has had chicken pox). Shingles is NOT contagious in the sense that you can give shingles to someone..you can't. You can however give chicken pox to someone when you have an active shingles infection if they are not vaccinated/immune. Anyone who has had CP or the CP vaccine is at risk of developing shingles yes..but shingles can not be "caught" nor is it transmitted from person to person.

If you have shingles you CAN give someone who has not had the CP vaccine or CP the CP virus..if someone non immune to chicken pox comes in contact with the lesions they end up with chicken pox.

Shingles is only contagious in situations where someone not immune to chicken pox comes in contact with the lesions..they will contract CP NOT shingles. So yes I was correct in stating shingles is only contagious to someone who has not had CP or the CP vaccine.

OK, not going to argue because it is obvious that you and I are interpreting this differently.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by tefrench

There is a shingles vaccine, but most insurance won't pay for it until you are 70 (way too late for dh!) The cost out of pocket would be in the hundreds of dollars.

Dh's doctor told him, once you have developed shingles, the shot won't prevent any recurrance.

Zoster is actually age 60 as per us government task force guidelines.

[Coconut36]

Originally Posted by disney1990

OK, not going to argue because it is obvious that you and I are interpreting this differently.

There isn't really anything to interpret. It's pretty straightforward facts.

You can NOT give someone shingles.

You CAN give someone chicken pox if you have an active shingles infection.

It's that simple.

The virus that causes shingles, VZV, can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has never had chickenpox through direct contact with the rash. The person exposed would develop chickenpox, not shingles.

How do I get shingles?

You cannot get shingles from another person. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox as a child, the virus lies dormant in your nervous system. Sometimes, for reasons not entirely understood, the virus is activated, causing shingles. So if you have shingles, you were actually infected by your own chickenpox.

How is shingles contagious?
If you have shingles, you can give another person chickenpox if they haven't had it already. So, if your husband has not had chickenpox yet, you could give him chickenpox, but not shingles. You will be contagious for about a week after the rash appears. If you have shingles, chickenpox is usually transmitted through contact with the open blisters of the rash. The best thing to do is keep your rash covered up so no one will have direct contact with it, and so you won't touch it and then touch someone else. Shingles is usually painful, so you probably won't want anyone to touch you anyway.

[MickeysMommy]

OMG, my mother has been suffering with shingles in her eye for almost a year now. She has the itching on her forehead and top of her scalp. Its horrible.

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[missingFL]

My mom got shingles from most likely a compromised immune system a few years ago. It was terrible because I'd never seen her so ill. My kids actually contracted chicken pox at ages 5 and 3 from this outbreak. My daughter had the vaccine as well as the booster (she had the worst case of the 2) and my son had had a dose of the vaccine. They were in the very small percentage that still got the chicken pox after having the vaccine. The nurse at my pediatrician's office actually said that they didn't have it unless my mother had allowed them to come in contact with the lesions. But having worked in daycares and a pediatrician's office in college, I knew what chicken pox looked like. My pediatrician told me that if the kids had come in contact with my mom's shirts or hands that possibly contained the oils form the lesions, it was contagious. Needless to say, it's on their medical records that they have had CP. Just help her to rest and recover!

[BonnieA]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

There isn't really anything to interpret. It's pretty straightforward facts.

You can NOT give someone shingles.

You CAN give someone chicken pox if you have an active shingles infection.

It's that simple.

This is the truth.

[disney1990]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

There isn't really anything to interpret. It's pretty straightforward facts.

You can NOT give someone shingles.

You CAN give someone chicken pox if you have an active shingles infection.

It's that simple.

Originally Posted by Coconut36

Shingles is only contagious to someone who has not had chicken pox (or the vaccine). It can cause them to contract chicken pox. You can not give shingles to someone.

OP..shingles is simply the reactivation of the CP virus in the body..there is a vaccine to help prevent shingles from occurring and it most commonly happens in "older" folks..sometimes it is an immune response, can happen during extremely high stress times..etc but it's just something that happens.

I don't know what you are still arguing about. All I have done is quote what you have said - see above. You used the words contagious.

My addition was that you had to either have had chicken pox or the vaccine.