shingles

[missJ30]

Hi,
I'm 6 weeks pregnant and just found out on sunday. I am slightly overwhelmed getting my head around all the rules and finding the balance between being cautious enough but not utterly paranoid! Two quick questions...

1. is it OK to drink coke - I know you shouldn't drink caffeine so I have absolutely no caffinated tea or coffee, but coke helps settle my stomach. Is that OK or should i stop?
2. More importantly, someone mentioned my boss might have shingles. I have had chicken pox and shingles already when I was little. I obviously haven't told my boss I'm pregnant yet and would ideally wait a lot longer, but if I need to, she would be very supportive. Should I ask her about the suspected shingles/tell her I'm pregnant - how much of a risk is contact with someone with shingles?

Thanks so so much for any replies.
:-)

Don't know about the caffeine, but you should be OK with your boss's shingles.

The virus is present in the blisters, but shingles blisters only occur on the torso, so will be covered by top/blouse. I'm pretty sure it would need direct contact with the blisters to be exposed to the virus.

Coke surely can't be the only thing that settles your stomach? It's full of sugar and colourings plus the caffeine you mention. I guess it depends how much of the stuff you're drinking? Try plain soda water - it's brilliant for settling nauseous tummies.

You need to call your GP to check that you are immune, as you've had chicken pox and shingles you should be absolutely fine. DH has shingles when I was 18weeks and I hadn't had either, I had to have a very big injection in my bottom!!

I think the recommendation re: caffeine is up to 8 cans a day. However, the less you drink, the better, as the issue with caffeine is actually a higher risk of miscarriage, in addition to a lower birth weight for baby. Ideally, you don't want to drink that much anyway, because as Badgerina says, its full of sugar. Diet coke has the same amount of caffeine unfortunately...

If you've had chicken pox, you should be alright with shingles, as your immune system deals with it before it gets anywhere near baby!

thanks. have only had one small glass so think am under that limit! will swap it for something else.

i called NHS direct re the shingles and they seemed very relaxed about it as I've had chicken pox before and would have to actually touch the rash to have any chance of catching it anyway.

thanks so much for your replies.

What about this re the coke issue if you are worried about the caffeine intake?
m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=254857196&sc_cmp=pcp_GSF_50958311

wow - hardly anything in it!

Some people worry about asparteme. A pharmacist warned me away from it when trying to work out whether was worth swapping berocca for pregnacare when ttc (berocca has folic acid in it) but there's more actual evidence for caffeine being the problem.

Its 200mg caffeine a day and a can of full sugar coke has 40mg (sugar free has a tad more, can't find the link) so around 4-5 cans a day is fine.

I went through a serious citrus phase around 8- 14 weeks and found fizzy water with cordials or a fresh lime and a bit of sugar, or gingerbeer with a squeezed lime in it very settling too.

Just as an addition - shingles does not only present on the torso. I had it on my fanjo when I was 16 and not at all sexually active, before anyone thinks it was anything else ;) had it again in the same place late last tear - it occurs when im very stressed and run down. My DMIL is prone to it on her face.

However if you've had it and chickenpox you'll be fine.

I had shingles in my eye years ago. Has pretty much destroyed my vision in that eye. So it does not only effect the torso, but I do believe you need contact to get it so would not worry.

I'm 24 weeks and drink a can of coke a day, sometimes two! I've given up everything else including a heavy coffee habit, I NEED something

BuntyCollocks and Doodlekitty - thanks for the info, I never realised that. Have just been googling about it and am suitable scared now!

It affects anywhere there is a nerve strangely, so literally anywhere, I think because the dormant chicken pox virus manifests itself in the nerve. Hence, a first symptom can be nerve pain, rather than any spots or rash. It is particularly dangerous in your face, as doodlekitty because it can (but not always) cause damage to the nerve, hence resulting in paralysis to facial muscles & so on. However, whilst you can get chicken pox from shingles, you can't get shingles from chicken pox (that's just dumb luck, or unluck as it were).