Chicken Pox

[suzy26]

My 7 year old son has come out in chicken pox today, I think I had it as a child But does anyone know if I can carry the virus on to other people i.e elderly grandparent? Don't want to visit if theres a chance I could make them ill.

I pretty sure that you can only catch it through direct contact with the rash or through droplets like you get when someone sneezes but if you are unsure whether you had it as a child you may be better off putting off seeing your relatives for a while. It can take 14 days for someone to come out in a rash after being exposed to chicken pox and you will be infectious for a couple of days before the rash appears until all the spots have crusted over. Also even if you have had chicken pox it is possible to develop shingles when exposed to the chicken pox virus.

Thanks, think I will keep away for a while as she really is elderly and frail. Now have just got to console little boy who is not hapy that the chicken pox have appeared on his 'winky'

Amynix is right, except for one thing - you can't develop shingles from being exposed to chicken pox; shingles comes from your own exposure to CP, and the virus lies dormant in your system. It can be triggered by a number of things, but not by being exposed to CP. The opposite is true though - you can catch CP from someone with shingles (although you would have to be in very close contact). More info here . So if the grandparents have already had chicken pox, there's no risk to them from your son having it.

Once the chicken pox blisters have scabbed over, they're not infectious anymore - usually takes about five days.