Shingles

I think there were a few medical experts on here, hopefully someone can answer this for me.

My kids and nephews/nieces have all come down with the pox.

As a child I had a really bad episode of the pox and so I thought I was immune.

Since then I have been taking immunosupressive drugs for my eczema for the last 4 or 5 years, the same drug that gets given to organ transplant patients (cyclosporin). As such I am considered to have a weak immune system...I do get a lot more colds etc than before.

Question is, can I catch Shingles from someone with Chicken Pox?

I feel bad becuase I cant even comfort my kids at the moment and I just feel all itchy thinking about it, worrying about Shingles.

[carelesschucca]

IIRC If you've had chickenpox you've already got the virus in you system and shingles can appear at any time...

I had Shingles when I was about 21. I've never been escorted out of a building so fast when one of the women clicked to what it was...

[Dave20046]

all there mate http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chicken...roduction.aspx
the answer is no - go be super dad with your 'orrid spotty sprogs


I had shingles when I was about 14 it was ferkin nasty, they follow your veins and break out unbelievably
akin to one of these:

[Dave20046]

Oh and here's the quote

Originally Posted by NHUS

Chickenpox and shingles

One you have had chickenpox, you usually develop antibodies to the infection and become immune to catching it again. However, the virus that causes chickenpox, the varicella virus, remains dormant (inactive) in your body's nerve tissues and can return later in life as an illness called shingles.
It is possible to catch chickenpox from someone with shingles, but not the other way around.
Read more about shingles.

Cheers guys its reassuring.

So many contradicting websites out thar...

[Dave20046]

hmm the NHS article may work on the assumption you have a normal immune system, I'm not sure exactly what causes shingles to flare, I just know it's the dorment pox virus becoming active. You may want to track down exactly what causes a shingles outbreak

Sorry if that un~ reassures you!

Originally Posted by hongman

I think there were a few medical experts on here, hopefully someone can answer this for me.

My kids and nephews/nieces have all come down with the pox.

As a child I had a really bad episode of the pox and so I thought I was immune.

Since then I have been taking immunosupressive drugs for my eczema for the last 4 or 5 years, the same drug that gets given to organ transplant patients (cyclosporin). As such I am considered to have a weak immune system...I do get a lot more colds etc than before.

Question is, can I catch Shingles from someone with Chicken Pox?

I feel bad becuase I cant even comfort my kids at the moment and I just feel all itchy thinking about it, worrying about Shingles.

My daughter has chicken pox at the moment, we have been told you can get chicken pox from shingles but not vice versa.

[embee]

Originally Posted by hongman

...the same drug that gets given to organ transplant patients (cyclosporin).

This?

Yep i take 4 of those every day

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by Dave20046

hmm the NHS article may work on the assumption you have a normal immune system, I'm not sure exactly what causes shingles to flare, I just know it's the dorment pox virus becoming active. You may want to track down exactly what causes a shingles outbreak

Sorry if that un~ reassures you!

Just run this past my Mrs (she's a GP) and she says your not supposed to get an outbreak of shingles from contact with somebody who has chicken pox, but she has had several instances over 20 odd years of practice where it appears to have happened. The problem is that as has been said shingles is just something that is lying suppressed in your body deciding to have a day out, and it can be triggered by you just being run down (like maybe having to look after a bunch of grandchildren who have all got the pox...) and you are even more susceptible if you are immunosuppressed.