Chicken Pox/Shingles

[PoppyAnna]

Hi,
Any chance of any advice from medical DISer's?
My 2 1/2 yo nephew has a bad case of chicken pox which started on Boxing Day He caught it from his elder brother who is now well and spotless.
I will not be coming into contact with him so I am not worried about that but I've been told by my MIL today that my SIL wants one of her "days off" tomorrow and is shipping both boys off to the in-laws who are 72 but are in excellent health. I could tell my MIL was uncomfortable with the idea as we had an open conversation with regards to the possible health implications for them.
I had chicken pox aged around 21 and was back living at home at the time and my Mum got a bad case of shingles. What is the likelyhood of this?

 

[irenep]

This is a bit of an old wives tale.

Shingles is an eruption of dormant chickenpox in someone who has previously had chickenpox. It is not possible to 'catch' shingles from someone infected with chickenpox but it is true of the reverse. i.e. you can catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles.

When your mum had shingles at the same time you had chickenpox, it may be that you caught the virus from her!

check out :www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/chickenpox

 

[snookhams]

I am not medically trained but I had shingles myself about 4 years ago and my Dr told me that you don't have to be in contact with Chicken Pox to catch shingles, the chicken pox virus stays dormant in you and when the conditions are right ( under stress, pressure or unwell) then shingles can result - I had it on my leg which is quite rare, and really would not wish this on anyone in my opinion it was at times more painful than childbirth - and resulted in me having about 8 weeks off work, partly because I could not put any weight on my leg, and even now I have to wear an elasticated stocking or my leg swells really badly, infact last summer in WDW I thought I knew better and did not wear it for a few days - I paid for it, so much so that DH had to hire a wheel chair for a couple of days for me!
Take a look here it explains it quite well http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/shingles1.shtml,

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

Hi,
Any chance of any advice from medical DISer's?
My 2 1/2 yo nephew has a bad case of chicken pox which started on Boxing Day He caught it from his elder brother who is now well and spotless.
I will not be coming into contact with him so I am not worried about that but I've been told by my MIL today that my SIL wants one of her "days off" tomorrow and is shipping both boys off to the in-laws who are 72 but are in excellent health. I could tell my MIL was uncomfortable with the idea as we had an open conversation with regards to the possible health implications for them.
I had chicken pox aged around 21 and was back living at home at the time and my Mum got a bad case of shingles. What is the likelyhood of this?

If your In-Laws have had chicken pox then it is extremely unlikely that they will catch anything from your boys. 99.99% of people who have had chicken pox are now immune and only those that had a mild attack have a small possibility of catching it again. Also, at 72 I should imagine they have come into contact with the virus many times already.

Does the 2 1/2 year old have the spots already. If so, then he's in the latter stages of chicken pox and is no longer contagious.

 

[PoppyAnna]

Thank you all for your replies.
This is what I hoped. When my girls had chicken pox two years ago I was sure our GP said it was a mis-conception that Shingles could be contracted from CP, I reminded DH of this but he wouldn't have it.
Sounds like my in-laws aren't at any risk, thats good news.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Does the 2 1/2 year old have the spots already. If so, then he's in the latter stages of chicken pox and is no longer contagious.

People are still considered to be contagious till one week after the spots have appeared

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Make sure no one is on Steroids as they are told not to come in contact with Chicken pox.

People with Asthma might be on Steroids for an example.

 

[disneyholic family]

who "ships off" sick kids?

weird mom....

 

[natalielongstaff]

who "ships off" sick kids?

weird mom....

Maybe a mom who has had the hyperactive kids for weeks on end and could do with a bloomin rest !!!

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

People are still considered to be contagious till one week after the spots have appeared

Quite correct...I should have said when the spots have scabbed over, which is usually 5 days after they have appeared.

 

[disneyholic family]

Maybe a mom who has had the hyperactive kids for weeks on end and could do with a bloomin rest !!!

get a rest when they're healthy again..
or have the inlaws come and stay with you...
don't "ship them off"...

 

[PoppyAnna]

Agreed. This is what being a parent is about.
Don't get me started....
This is my SIL (by marriage) down to a tee though. She's a work shy "mum" who (along with her hubby) frequently takes advantage of my 72yo in-laws who are too nice (and bullied by their son) to say no, because they love their grandsons. Don't be under the impression that because he's with his Dad that that's who will be looking after him.
This little boy who got spots on boxing day is apparently covered from head to toe worse than his elder brother was, he's probably 30% heavier than he should be so I would imagine he really isn't comfortable with this condition especially as he has lots in his nappy region, which I'm told is causing him to wake frequently during the night. This happened to my DD xmas two years ago, I set my alarm every two hrs everynight to change her in her sleep, during the day I kept her comfortable by keeping her out of a nappy in a loose t-shirt and cleaning up the consequences! I'm not a perfect Mum but that was what common sense told me to do - and I was nursing my three month old DD at the time - and she had it! - it was not a fun time, but I didn't ship them off to their grandparents......
Apparently she wanted to go sales shopping......

 

[emily1982]

Personally i wouldnt worry about catching chickenpox as it is at it's more infectious stage before the spots appear...just stay away if your pregnant!

 

[AliceGardner]

i.e. you can catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles.

Wierd... I have had shingles twice (once at Primary School, once at Secondary School - I was a VERY rare case to have it twice under the age of 14... ) and wasn't kept at home (apart from being too ill to go to school for a few days the first time) or away from people.

Alice

 

[emily1982]

Wierd... I have had shingles twice (once at Primary School, once at Secondary School - I was a VERY rare case to have it twice under the age of 14... ) and wasn't kept at home (apart from being too ill to go to school for a few days the first time) or away from people.

Alice

I think shingles must be coming more common i work in a school and know quite a few children who have had it, also our local authority rules are you be keft off for at least 7 days and counts for staff too. It can be very dangeous for pregnant ladies and people with weak immune systems.

 

[gilld]

Yes my husband is a GP and we have a close friend who is a virologist, you can get Chicken Pox from Shingles but not the other way around.

I have had Chicken Pox 4 times and Shingles also...I simply can't get the immunity.

 

[AliceGardner]

Yes my husband is a GP and we have a close friend who is a virologist, you can get Chicken Pox from Shingles but not the other way around.

I have had Chicken Pox 4 times and Shingles also...I simply can't get the immunity.

Odd isn't it that people with Shingles aren't kept at home more isn't it? Although sounds like Emily1982's school has the right idea. When I had it, we saw a friend who is an expert in tropical/unusual diseases and he knew quite a lot about Shingles too. Surprised that they didn't lock me away for a week or two, so that I didn't pass the virus on to someone who hadn't had chicken pox yet...

I thought that you could only have Chiken Pox once?

I am actually glad that I had shingles at an early age. It was VERY painful and itchy the first time I had it (about 9 or 10 years old), but was actually a lot milder the second time about 13). The theory is that the virus gets weaker the more you have it. I know that shigles can be VERY bad if you have it when you are elderly, so hopefully I will avoid that

Alice