Chicken Pox

[tiggerblue10]

Little Tiggs has chicken pox and the spots are at the pre-scab stage. Looks like were stuck indoors for the next few days :o(

Mr Tiggs has never had chicken pox so he said he wouldn't come to visit in case he caught it or shingles. How do you get shingles?

[Robinia]

Shingles just happens, but you have to have had chickenpox at sometime (so I believe)
Chickenpox for an adult is horrendous, wish I'd had it as a child when I had my mum to take care of me!

[EDDIE51]

Chicken pox and shingles are caused by the same virus. Adults who contact the chicken pox virus tend to shingles rather than chicken pox. Shingles is very painfull.

[tiggerblue10]

Ah, I see. So, even if you had chicken pox as a child, as I did, you can still get shingles from someone who has chicken pox?

[ummmm]

My sister had chicken pox as an adult. It was very mild.

[Robinia]

No you don't 'catch' shingles, it's the chickenpox virus in your system that wakes up...sometimes when you're below par.

[EDDIE51]

Information here
http://www.bupa.co.uk.../directory/s/shingles
Yes ,they are caused by the same virus, if you had chicken pox as a child contact with a new case can reactivate it as shingles. Also if you have never had chicken pox (unlikedly as it is so common) contact with chicken pox can give you shingles or chicken pox.

[Sqad]

\\\\\How do you get shingles?\\\

No idea.

if you haven't had chickenpox as a child then you cant catch shingles.
You can't catch shingles from someone else who has shingles.

if you have had chicken pox as a child then you can develop shingles.

Why?...no idea......mostly theories.

[albaqwerty]

I think the contagious time is before the spots come out.

Poor little tiggs xx

I had chicken pox when I was 39, however I was teaching my children to share but there is a limit.

[jabuchanjx]

After you have chickenpox, the virus that caused it, called varicella, remains in your body. It's always inside you, lying dormant (or asleep) in your nerve cells. At some point later in life, your immune system may weaken, allowing the virus to resurface as Shingles. You may be feeling great, but if you've had chickenpox, the Shingles virus is already inside you. And your risk for Shingles increases as you get older.
http://www.shinglesinfo.com/shinglesinfo

[tiggerblue10]

So, from what I have read, the virus can lay dormant in the body after having had chicken pox and may develop into shingles later in life if your immune system is affected. I had flu a few weeks ago and last week I had a cough so could shingles develop if I've had contact with chicken pox?

Sorry, I know I'm being a bit thick here but I just want to get things straight in my head.

[tiggerblue10]

Sorry, didn't see you there Jabuchanjx. The link doesn't work.

[Sqad]

\\\I had flu a few weeks ago and last week I had a cough so could shingles develop if I've had contact with chicken pox? \\\

The CONTACT has nothing to do with it.

if you had chicken pox as a child then following flu, you could develop shingles........very unlikely and the "immune thingy" is just a theory.

[EDDIE51]

Yes tigs, as you have had chicken pox you can get shingles now.
As I said VERY ew people have never had chicken pox , he may have had it so mild he did not notice or so young he does not remember.

[jabuchanjx]

copy/paste the link. it takes you to the site just for shingles. I do not think you have to worry to much about having the flu and now the kids having the pox. The shingles virus is dormant and just because the kids have the pox will not cause you to activate the virus. Just try to keep your strength up and take vitamines

[tiggerblue10]

Thanks Sqad, so it can happen at any time regardless.

Eddie, Mr Tiggs's mum says that he never had and neither did his 2 brothers. They must have been living in a bubble! Lol

[Slapshot]

Caught it aged 33.....it was bad!! I had spots everywhere...yes everywhere. It hit me really had to the extent that SWMBO dragged me to A&E cos she thought I was was having a heart attack or something, worst part was we were on holiday at the time!

[tiggerblue10]

Thank you Jab, will do :o)

Thanks everybody :o)

[tiggerblue10]

Oh dear Slapshot, sounds awful.

[Brenden]

I had chickenpox as a child and again at 35 - boy was I ill.

[commoner]

Had chickenpox as a child and the dormant virus re-emerged when I was 45...horrible rash around my middle and so painful..the pain remained for months after the rash went and was even worse than when I had the rash...chicken pox left only a couple of small "pocks" on my temple but the legacy was there hidden in my body just waiting to make me ill years later...horrible nasty parasite..Eough!

They used to say (the old wives) that if the rash made a complete belt round your waist that you were a gonner....mine didn't so still here!