Shingles (disease) question

[destrekor]

Thanks.


Also, confirmed case of shingles w/ the GF. She needs to stay away from children, old people, and sick people...

You're welcome!

If it helps - not everyone who has had chicken pox will develop shingles. It's not a guarantee at all, but that is in fact the only way to get it.

Hell, it's possible more people get it but never really develop much at all - something unexplained perhaps, but no visible rash.
Some people may get a mild case of brain swelling and it never gets diagnosed.

I say that because I'm a good bit confident I had something like that - imaging tests weren't done till a few weeks in, but I had much in the way of meningitis/encephalitis symptoms, a few weeks of miserable pain, and a head/neckache that slowly got better until it was gone about 6-8 weeks after it began. The first 2 weeks were miserable: stiff neck, an insane headache, flu-like symptoms, fever (and a "low fever" below normal temp), then the head/neck portion stuck around awhile longer. No diagnoses ever came, blood tests were good, imaging tests were good.
I still hate that there was never an answer. I don't like mysteries.
I was something like 17 when I had that. Curious now if that was "my case of shingles" - zoster can and has caused much worse for humans. The various herpes virii are actually one of the more common causes for viral meningitis, and zoster can "activate" in such a way.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

<---- board certified Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine for 20 yrs
First- shingles is very contagious, while a person has open sores they are shedding virus by respiratory droplets. You do not have to touch a lesion.
Second - in addition to avoiding adults that have never had the chickenpox or the vaccine (started giving it routinely to children about 1997), the most susceptable encounters are with pregnant females. If a fetus comes in contact, the mothers immune system may not prevent transmission, and intrauterine herpes zoster infections can lead to brain damage.
third- If I were you, I'd get a Varicella vaccine ASAP. If you get chicken pox - see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis and start anti-viral therapy. Unfortunately, there is no data to prove anti-viral therapy can prevent transmission, but if the disease starts it will be best to get on it asap.

Is it not contagious during the incubation period?

 

[Kadarin]

jUST GO GET VACINNATED

This. Even if it's $200, it sounds like $200 well spent to avoid a lot of potential annoyance.

Or you could just pray to Jesus, and His grace will make things all better.

 

[WelshBloke]

hoping my uber immune system takes care of me here. i deliberately throw everything at it just so i can build it up.

Errr yeah...thats not quite how your immune system works.

 

[RiDE]

I got shingles about 2 months ago. Hurt like a bitch for about 3 days. Felt like somebody was sending electrical impulses every 5 seconds or so. It was only about a 2x2 inch patch. I see pictures online where it's covering the whole chest and back... I don't want to know how much that hurts.

 

[StarTech]

GF might have shingles

I have never had chickenpox


am I hosed?

No. She may have rare occasional come-backs much later in life. And it can be very painful.

My son had shingles when he was 5 years old. He is fine today, some 30 years later.

 

[mattpegher]

Is it not contagious during the incubation period?

For chicken pox, it is contagious as soon as a single pox or fever exists so at the end of the incubation period there may be some transmission.
For shingles the early stage, which is characterized as pain without rash lasting 2-3 days, the rate of transmission is low but probably not zero. There is no "incubation period" for shingles as it is a reactivation not a primary infection. Statistically and epidemiologically speaking the rate of transmission before the rash is low enough not to warrant any concern.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I'm dealing with shingles myself right now. First noticed it about a week and half ago. HURT LIKE A MOFO for the first 4-5 days. It felt like someone was jabbing me in the back with needles. And the pain is 24-7, no let up. I was put on Vicodin which helped enough to let me sleep, but barely. I still have the sores and feel discomfort. They itch a lot now but at least there isn't as much pain.

Trust me, you don't want this. I highly recommend spending the $150-200 to get the vaccine if you can, seriously. My doctor told me it can last for a month or more. I see no sign of it going away anytime soon judging from how the sores still still look.

 

[olds]

A co-worker got it. The meds he was on were bad and he couldn't drive/run equipment. He ended up retiring.

 

[StarTech]

Enjoy your herpes

It is common for people that has not had any exposure to relatives or acquaintances having the disease to think it has anything to do with the sexually transmitted disease. It is just lack of education about the subject. The misconception comes from the name of the virus, herpes zoster, which shares the first word with herpes simplex.

"Herpes zoster", or commonly simply "zoster", (I guess to avoid insensitive comments like "enjoy your herpes"), occurs as what one could could call a "late in life reincarnation" of the "varicella zoster virus" which many years before caused chickenpox in the same individual. Only the first one, the varicella is contagious. Unfortunately, the resurgence as zoster can be very painful, and statistically occurs more often after age 65, but it can occur at any age, and again, only for people that had chickenpox some time in the past.

I suggest a look-up for shingle in wikipedia.

 

[mattpegher]

It is common for people that has not had any exposure to relatives or acquaintances having the disease to think it has anything to do with the sexually transmitted disease. It is just lack of education about the subject. The misconception comes from the name of the virus, herpes zoster, which shares the first word with herpes simplex.

"Herpes zoster", or commonly simply "zoster", (I guess to avoid insensitive comments like "enjoy your herpes"), occurs as what one could could call a "late in life reincarnation" of the "varicella zoster virus" which many years before caused chickenpox in the same individual. Only the first one, the varicella is contagious. Unfortunately, the resurgence as zoster can be very painful, and statistically occurs more often after age 65, but it can occur at any age, and again, only for people that had chickenpox some time in the past.

I suggest a look-up for shingle in wikipedia.

But it is a herpes virus. There are many herpes virus species,

HHV1
HHV 1--This causes cold and sores around the mouth and is also known as Herpes Simplex Virus 1 HSV 1.This virus may also cause genital herpes.

HHV2
HHV 2--Also known as Herpes Simplex Virus 2 or HSV 2, it typically causes the genital herpes.

HHV3
HHV 3--This is also known as Varicella Zoster Virus and is known to cause chicken pox. It also causes herpes zoster or shingles--a recurrent skin infection.

HHV4
HHV 4--This is also known as the Epstein-Barr virus and causes the mononucleosis or the "kissing disease". It is a contagious infection that is transmitted through saliva when kissing.

HHV5
HHV 5--Also known as cytomegalovirus-CMV causes mononucleosis. It can also be sexually transmitted, cause infections in the new born and also becomes a reason for hepatitis.

HHV 6--This virus causes roseola, a viral infection causing skin rashes and high fever especially in small children.

HHV 7--This is a newly discovered virus much similar to HHV 6 and also causes roseola.

HHV 8--Is a recently discovered virus and is found in tumors called the Kaposi's sarcoma- KS. These tumors are normally found in people that suffer from AIDS and HHV8 may also cause other kinds of cancers.

So it is a common joke to refer to these as herpes.

 

[borisvodofsky]

enjoy being sterile. JKJK that's chicken pox.


You'll be fine.

 

[DCal430]

He can't get vaccinated, you can only get the Chicken Pox vaccine if you are a minor, it isn't approved for adults.

The shingles vaccine should NEVER be given to someone who was never vaccinated for Chicken Pox, or never had Chicken Pox.

 

[Ns1]

He can't get vaccinated, you can only get the Chicken Pox vaccine if you are a minor, it isn't approved for adults.

The shingles vaccine should NEVER be given to someone who was never vaccinated for Chicken Pox, or never had Chicken Pox.

I'm going to get the shingles vaccine, and evidently I have been vaccinated for chicken pox AND I had chicken pox as a small child.

 

[DCal430]

Shingles can be read bad too, know someone who got shingles at 40, and developed some permanent nerve damage, causing periodic pains in the area that developed the shingles.

 

[Jeff7]

While she has fresh sores, or any sores aren't scabbed over and almost healed, it can be spread, but it requires contact. Anything she touches with a sore, don't touch that - and don't make contact with her sores.

fuck...

You thought they were nipples, didn't you.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally Posted by Ns1 View Post

Originally Posted by destrekor View Post
While she has fresh sores, or any sores aren't scabbed over and almost healed, it can be spread, but it requires contact. Anything she touches with a sore, don't touch that - and don't make contact with her sores.

fuck...

You thought they were nipples, didn't you.

Aw man...

 

[ManBearPig]

Question: if shingles is just reactivated chicken pox, why are the vaccines differentiated?

 

[DCal430]

Question: if shingles is just reactivated chicken pox, why are the vaccines differentiated?

The Shingles and Chicken Pox vaccines are INFACT the same compound, the only difference is the shingle vaccine is a much larger dosage. The Shingles Vaccine dosage is 14 times more concentrated.

 

[ManBearPig]

Interesting. Wonder how concentration factors into all this, and why they don't do it for other vaccines (though I can understand how it's a bit different for reactivative viruses). Seems like some scientist was just like "OMG increase the concentration so were absolutely sure nothing happens" lol.