Can teenagers get Shingles?

[HeadFairy]

We’re on holiday in Italy at the moment and I think my 16 year old DD has shingles. It started just before we left with sharp burning pain in her back, she’s now developed a rash that is from one side of her back round to the front following the line of her bra. She says the rash is burning and itching. It’s not allergic, as we haven’t changed any deodorants/laundry things. Also, the rash fades under a glass. No temp, but headachy and lethargic. The pharmacy here gave me aciclovir cream which we started using yesterday. But I thought people her age didn’t get shingles. She’s had chicken pox as a toddler.

Yes my DD had it when she was early teens. I think it's unusual but not impossible

Yes

Yes, I did.

Yes, a friend did. Late teens. Her GP joked it was an old people's illness.

My daughter (now adult) got shingles aged 4, having had chicken pox as a baby. It absolutely definitely was shingles, because several children in her nursery developed chickenpox two weeks later and must have contracted it from her as that's the incubation period (I'd not realised what the rash was when it first appeared). So yes, it's possible to get it at an even younger age!

I had shingles at 10, my sister had it at 15.

Yes, I did. I had a horrid lump on my eyelid. Never forgotten it.

Yes, my son had it in his early teens

Urgh! Poor DD! Can I ask, for those that had it, was aciclovir effective? Or shall I try and get her a doctors appt for oral anti virals?

In the UK normal treatment would be Aciclovir, but orally rather than a cream.

Ok, I will try and see if we can find a doctor here. Thanks

Yes she needs oral anti virals, which I think mean she can't be exposed to sunlight whilst on them. Poor thing, shingles is awful. How long til you are home?

My advice is to promptly get the tablet form of aciclovir, painkillers if necessary and something to deal with the rash. I hope she feels better soon.

Yes, I had it at 15 years old. This was the late 80’s and all the GP gave me was calamine lotion and told me to stay off school for a week, but it’s treated differently now I believe.

We’re not home for another 10 days so I think we’ll have to sort here!

Thank you, she says the paracetamol isn’t helping at all.

Bizarrely they don’t sell calamine, I went to three pharmacies yesterday. They’d never heard of it!

I was going to suggest calamine.

I think, depending on the timeline, you should push for oral anti-virals.
My DS got Shingles aged 2! Having had about 2 spots on his neck at 12 weeks old...caught from my DD1, who was 3, but got it mildly as was so young and had a certain immunity from me, as a neonate.
The GP was initially sceptical ( telephone consult) but absolutely agreed when he saw him.
Your poor old DD, I do think oral anti virals would help, regarding the duration and severity of symptoms.

Shingles = Herpes zoster which might aid communication in pharmacies.
From Google: at farmacia (marked with a green cross) calamine lotion is often sold as calamina (lotion or cream) or branded products like [Lainco] or [Ioox] Calamine lotion.
Ask for "lozione alla calamina" (calamine lotion).
Italian pharmacies can create a farmaco galenico (custom compound) version of calamine lotion on-site, sometimes with added ingredients like menthol for extra cooling.
You do not need a prescription for standard calamine lotion.

My daughter had it last summer. She was 15 at the time. She was given oral anti-virals and we ended up driving around looking for a late night chemist as the doctor had told us they needed to be started within a couple of days of the symptoms starting. We also used calamine lotion.

I was really surprised that she had it and thought it was something older people got. She was a bit miserable for a few days but ok after that. Rash irritated her and hung around for a while.

My DS had it aged 18 months. We didn't even realise he'd had chicken pox before (must have been one of the random viral stages he went through - no spots)!

Oral antivirals can help, if they’re started within 72 hours of the rash coming out, but they’re not essential - it will resolve in time either way, and post-herpetic neuralgia (prolonged nerve pain after shingles) is rare in younger people. So if you can see a doctor today it would be a good idea, but don’t panic if you can’t!

I don't think calomine will do much do don't stress about trying to find it.
Ibuprofen will be more effective than paracetamol.
My dd had it age 11

my father in law lives here and he’s helping us. They don’t have calamine here at all.