Chicken pox vs shingles - myths and facts!

[Werewolfnotswearwolf]

Posted recently about my little boy’s chicken pox - he’s developed it this week and now I have a rash on my side which looks suspiciously shingles-like. I’ve had shingles before and it feels very similar.

But everything says that there’s no way I could have caught shingles from chicken pox ! Is it just a bizarre coincidence? Any stories to the contrary? I’ve definitely already had chicken pox and the rash is nothing like chicken pox spots.

Coincidence

Shingles had been linked to stress. Any chance that applies if DS has been really upset and not sleeping well as a result of his chickenpox?

Possibly reactivated from low immune system from a poorly child and lack of sleep maybe? Seems SO weird.

Very stressed atm - moving house, poorly child and very stressful full time job! Also just been diagnosed with alopecia areata so my immune system much be taking a hit.

You can catch Chicken pox from shingles but not shingles from chicken pox.

You catch the chicken pox virus from someone contaminated with chicken pox (normally during childhood) virus then lays dormant in the system until triggered by stress, low immunity etc.

If you have shingles and go next to someone that has not had exposure to the virus they will get chicken pox. If they have been exposed to the virus previously (had chicken pox) then they have built an immunity to the virus that needs to be triggered and can't be caught

So maybe I could have had shingles first and given him chicken pox?

you could have given him chicken pox, yes, but shingles is much less contagious than chicken pox. The fluid inside the blisters is contagious in both the primary infection (chicken pox) and subsequent recurrences (shingles) but my understanding is that the virus is only airborn during primary infection. So a kid with chickenpox but no spots yet can cough and spread it to all his friends at nursery but you can’t spread shingles unless someone touches your rash.

You don’t ‘catch’ shingles at all. It’s in your system from when you had chickenpox.

Yup

When I had shingles aftercontact with children that had chicken pox ,the nurse told me that sometimes chicken pox gives the virus a little reminder and if your immune system is low it can result in shingles . The children were not mine and I couldn't have infected them .

You may have been brewing shingles, transmitted it to him, and he became symptomatic first?

I'm still mildly aggrieved that my brothers and I are held responsible for giving my father's visiting aunt shingles 40 years ago, when in fact she was the likely culprit

the nurse told me that sometimes chicken pox gives the virus a little reminder and if your immune system is low it can result in shingles

I don't think that is the current thinking tbh.

If a patient had shingles at a hospital, the only people they are isolated from are people that have not had shingles.

This makes no sense? Do you mean people who have not had chicken pox?

My apologies, yes that's correct people who have not had Chicken pox