Friend with shingles - do I have to avoid her at 36 weeks?

Friends have just arrived from the USA and we haven't seen them in AAAAGES or met their beautiful new addition. Our girlfriend has had shingles though - developed about 3 weeks ago.

Does anyone know what the deal is with this? I know shingles + pregnant women are not supposed to mix but I'm wondering why / if there's anything I can do that will prevent catching the virus that will still mean that I can see them.

Any info much appreciated - google is just confusing me!

You can't catch shingles though you can develop chickenpox if you havent had it and if you havent been vaccinated. If you've had chickenpox or have been vaccinated, you should be fine, just dont touch her open sores.

People can only get shingles if they've had chickenpox. It's a reactivation of the herpes zoster virus and usually occurs when the immune system is compromised. So you cant catch shingles itself.

It's chickenpox that is dangerous to babies, not shingles.

Tashy is spot on. Have you had chickenpox before?

Thanks ladies. I had chickenpox as a child so sounds like I should be fine. Yaaay, can't wait for a good catch up.

There is a simple blood test to see if you are immune to chicken pox - don't know if it applies to shingles though.