Healthy kids sometimes get shingles?

[RandomTyping]

I'm not asking anyone diagnose anything via the Internet, and I know that just because one person has a particular thing happen doesn't mean it will apply to everyone in the same scenario - but having a mini panic and hoping for a little bit of reassurance.

DD (9) has shingles. Apparently this is pretty uncommon in healthy kids (unless maybe you had chicken pox under the age of 1 - she didn't, she was 5). It's more common if you have some kind of immune issues...which has sent DH, who has form for gravitating to the worst case scenario whenever anyone has a sniffle, off panicking about cancer and leukaemia and survival rates for every kind of terrible illness you can imagine. He's actually medical (although works in an area where he sees the worst case of everything, so I think it skews his view) so it's hard to stay calm when he's imagining all the terrible things it might turn out to be!

Perfectly healthy kids sometimes get shingles, right? It's not so vanishingly rare that it's likely a sign of some sinister underlying condition - right?! Anyone's kid had it without anything else going on?

Just to add we queried whether anti viral meds should be taken and we were told in no uncertain terms that that applies to adults only - children don't generally need treatment.

Very often on the face too

My DD had shingles when she was 8. We were advised go to A&E. The doctor who examined her had to get a second opinion before they confirmed it was shingles. They kept asking whether I'd had chicken pox when I was pregnant, but I hadn't. She is otherwise healthy, so I think they were a bit confused. She recovered after a few weeks but does have two raised scars.

DS had it when he was about 10. We caught it early and he was prescribed an antiviral. He stayed off school but thankfully didn’t feel very ill with it. I think you can feel very rough if you’re older though.

I do think his immunity was compromised at the time. He had just started swimming for a club and was training a lot more than usual. In retrospect he was physically a bit run down, which may have been a factor.

DS had it at 15 - ok he wasn’t a young child, but still unusual. He had CP at just a year old, caught from his sister.
No underlying issues.,

I had shingles on my face, it came back there the second time as well. I've only ever been prescribed a ream for the itchy rash, no antivirals.

My 9 year old had shingles a while back, he did have cancer last year but he's in remission now and the consultant did say she thinks it was because the chemotherapy lowered his immune system and at the time, his immune system was still recovering.

Getting shingles isn't a symptom of possible cancer in a child so I wouldn't be concerned personally.

Maybe we’d have been given different advice if the rash was somewhere else, but it was on his torso and we were told he could go to school.

The rash can be anywhere on the body. My mum had it just above her eye. Without antivirals there was a very real risk of blindness. Thankfully the antivirals worked but she was in a hell of a lot of pain.

Australia has recently introduced a new shingles vaccination schedule because there’s such an increase in cases since Covid. Vaccination used to be reserved for those over 70 years old. Not now. From 18 I think, depending on risk factors and health conditions.

DS had CP at around 5 and shingles when he was around 10. No underlying health conditions and now a fit and healthy 30+ year old who is rarely ill.

My son had shingles on his back and we were also told he could go to school because it was covered with his clothes.

He wasn't ill at all with it so went to school as normal.

Dp had it as a young teen he stayed in hospital for a while and remembers having pain meds but not much else other than it hurt.
He's got some nasty scars on his chest and back from it.

He's the healthiest person I know as well as the most unhealthy
He's never ill, hardly ever gets coughs or colds, in the last 15 years he's only been to the Dr's for an ingrown toenail and yearly health checks for work.
He dosent excersise but his work is physical and he's more likely to leave his vegetables than the dc

Hope your dc is feeling better soon

My ds had chickenpox at 6 months and shingles age 3. Was misdiagnosed as eczema at first! Hasn't had it again since and he's 19 now

My DD was fine in herself as well apart from the rash bothering her. I only took her to the docs as I thought it could be impetigo at first. We were also told she could carry on as normal as long as it was covering. I was a bit worried as I’m immno-suppressed but I didn’t catch it.

Please do consider taking her to someone who can prescribe antivirals for her, if given early enough they can shorten the duration and minimise effects

You dont catch shingles
It can spread chickenpox to someone who hasnt had it before but only with direct contact with fluid from the blisters

I had shingles aged 6. I'm 51, no major diseases/illnesses!

i know plenty of healthy kids who’ve had shingles beyond the age of 1. I have also had them (in my 30s) and that’s also supposed to be unusual.

Id like to reassure you that shingles doesn’t equal worst case health scenarios. I also want to reassure you that you’d know if it was something severe like leukaemia. My husband had AML in 2023 so I am speaking from experience. Please don’t stress.

I understand how easy it is to spiral - and it is normal to worry. Hope your kid feels better soon. Shingles was very painful for me - excruciatingly painful in my skin but nothing similar to leukaemia symptoms etc.

Ps I had the anti virals & feel they really helped me!

My dd had shingles when she was 2.5 years old. The GP was surprised, as were we. She was uncomfortable, particularly being picked up and being in her carseat.
She caught chicken pox from her sibling when she was 9 weeks old, but sailed through it and only had 5 spots.
She has no other health complaints, now a very fit and healthy 16 yo who is very rarely ill. Try not to worry op.

I had it at 17 (I thought it was an infected bug bite on my right side). The Dr prescribed acyclovir cream, and later on with another bout, oral antivirals.

I was the fittest I’d ever been!

I have the odd reoccurrence now (I’m an old baggage in my 50s) but I handle it with over the counter cold sore cream (with acyclovir as the active ingredient) at the first tingle.

As I seem to have a shingles attack whenever anyone around is brewing chicken pox, DH calls me a Pox Alarm!

I've had shingles 7 times throughout my life, firstly when I was 10yo. Perfectly healthy and remained that way for many years. Currently have it right down my bum cheek/crack and by god is it stinging.

Both mine had shingles. A year apart. One was 7 and the other was 11. The younger one handled it much better. Older one was physically sick a few times then fine. Dr was really surprised. They are teens now, one almost an adult. Rarely get ill. They are perfectly healthy.
I had shingles in my early 30s too. So maybe just genetic thing?

I got shingles when I was 11. TBF I then did get diagnosed with an immune issue (neutropaenia, they never got to the bottom of why so eventually just named it idiopathic neutropaenia) but my body quickly got used to it and I went back to being very healthy. It really has had almost no impact on my life. The nhs still has an 'immunosuppressed' marker on my file so I get extra Covid vaccines but I'm almost never ill even though I have a snotty germy 1 year old who is always giving me husband his bugs.

Yes but I obviously still have to bath her and make sure I didn’t share towels etc.