My brothers 21 year old girlfriend has just been diagnosed with shingles the poor girl. My problem is how contaigeous is it for my 1 year old as I cant risk her getting anything like this. She (my DD) is already very little and cant afoard to get sick. My brother and his girlfriend live at my Mum and Dads house (time he moved out but thats another story he is 36)
DD could catch Chicken Pox (but NOT Shingles) through contact with the saliva or the skin rash itself.
So it is not an air-borne, proximity thing, it has to be direct contact.
YOU however, if you have had Chicken Pox, could catch Shingles the same way, although Shingles is not very contagious due to the way it has to be spread.
Oooh Aligater, my DH had shingles last year & they are ever so painful & highly contagious (I think from memory). I think they are only spread via contact with them & my DH had them in a band across his chest to his shoulder blade so we just kept them covered from the girls. I 'think' they are a form of Chicken Pox though & if you have had the vaccine for that, you should be immune to them? But I'm really not sure. I can't remember exactly - it's forever ago now since had them.
I'm not that kids can actually get shingles, they would get Chicken Pox, Shingles comes in adulthood I believe?
Anyone who has had Chicken Pox as a child CAN get Shingles as an adult. (And most people usually get it at some stage to some degree - even if you have had the CP Vaccination - as it is a resurgence of the virus in the body)
However, you can't catch Shingles from someone with Chicken Pox, but can get Chicken Pox from someone with the Shingles if you have never had it before.
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Shingles
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