My nephew has shingles!!!

my2monkeyboys wrote: My nephew just turned 10 Monday and they found out today that he has shingles.
I never knew kids could/would get that, but his dr said that it's becoming quite common since they started giving vaccines for chicken pox.
I just thought that was crazy and that everyone should know that it is possible.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I had shingles when I was 8. It was the first case my pediatrician had seen in a child, although it is known to happen. It was horrible. I had it on my panty line and I was in a lot of pain. Unlike chickenpox, it can reoccur, but I haven't broken out since.
I hope he feels better soon. Poor lil guy.

mckayleesmom replied: Can't shingles cause kids to become sterile as men?

Calimama replied: Poor thing. I hope he's feeling better soon.

JulieJ replied: Oh great, my DD just had her 2nd vaccine.

my2monkeyboys replied: Yeah, I hate when the cure is worse than illness. It seems they didn't think about this possible problem when they were trying to prevent chicken pox. Or maybe they did and didn't think it would happen. Or didn't care. Either way, it's sad.

MommyToAshley replied: Yikes.

I just wanted to mention that you can catch chicken pox from someone that has shingles. SO, being PG, I would stay away from him for now. I have had chicken pox three times, so stay away even if you've had them before.

A&A'smommy replied: yeah I knew someone who had shingles when I was a kid but she never had the chicken pox vaccine since its pretty recent

redchief replied:
Not likely, but primary infection of chickenpox in post-pubescent males can cause sterility, though it's rare. Actually, shingles can cause sterility in seriously immune compromised males (usually those infected with HIV or under heavy immuno-suppressive therapies), but that's thought to be the least of their problems, as liver failure and pneumonia are also common in these patients.

BTW, Dee Dee is right on. People with shingles can infect non-immune children with primary herpes zoster (chicken pox). On the flip side, infectious disease experts believe that two of the ways to keep a shingles attack from happening is to have the chicken pox vaccine as an older adult, or to expose yourself to a child with primary infection. Apparently both of these exposures boost the immune response in adults to the latent viral infection.

BTW2 - It's very rare for a mostly healthy child to contract shingles, although anyone who has had chicken pox can have an attack of shingles at any time.

moped replied: Pregnant women need to stay away from shingles

Nina J replied: Even if you don't get vaccinated, but get chicken pox, you can still get shingles, because it lives in you and can present in certain situations e.g. stress.

So, either way (vaccinated or not), the only way not have the possibility of getting shingles is never to be exposed to chicken pox.

I hope your nephew feels better.

my2monkeyboys replied: We've been staying away, even though his dr. said that he's not contagious unless you actually have physical contact with the small rash he has. He hasn't had a fever or anything as they caught it very early, thankfully. The dr. even said he could go to school.
We are supposed to go the their house Saturday to watch the Georgia/Carolina game (Go Dawgs!!), but we'll have to see how he is.
Thanks for the well wishes... I'll pass them along to him.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
I am more than a little freaked out by the fact that you can get chicken pox from someone with shingles as there is a girl in our co-op that has them and has been at every beginning of school activity because her mom said the pedi told them as long as you don't contact her sores you can't get it...That makes me nervous! I have been hoping Tay would get Chicken Pox before she got too much older BUT not now!!!!

I hope your nephew feels better soon!

redchief replied: Near as I know this only applies if mom hasn't had chicken pox.

MommyToAshley replied:
Not necessarily true, you CAN get the chicken pox more than once. The immunity isn't forever and wears off in some people. Thus the reason for the booster shot at age 11/12. I've had the chicken pox three times.

I hope your nephew feels better.

sparkys2boys replied: Oh that's terrible. Hope he's feeling better soon.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Spencer got them twice after he had his bone marrow transplants. They were very paninful. It didn't last very long, so hopefully it will be the same with your nephew. I hope he feels better soon!

redchief replied:
Yes, of course... Which is why folks' immune systems get a boost against shingles by being exposed to chicken pox... It stands to reason it can go the other way as well.

jcc64 replied: Dh had shingles as a teenager. He was very sick for over a month and still has the scars on his back all these years later.

my2monkeyboys replied: They seem to have caught it early - the rash has still not gotten over the size of a nickel, and he says he's feeling good, other than a little more fatigued than usual.
My sister is an RN so that helped her know to get him into the dr immediately.
Both my parents and DH's mom have had shingles in the last 5 years - they all had terrible cases that lasted weeks and caused great pain. Luckily my nephew didn't have to go through all of that.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
That is such a blessing! I'm glad he's feeling okay.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:


Not yet! I was hoping we would find somebody to have a chicken pox party with but that will have to put on hold for about a year now!