Shingles please help

[ell1877]

Hi everyone my son went to the doctor today and has been told he's got shingles he's 16 and lastnight I had touched were part of his rash was when I was checking what it could be,he us fine in himself and they told him it should clear up on it's own but I am really stressing in case I get it which sounds awful as I'm obviously concerned about my son but he's not worried and my so called friend just told me you can die from it so now my head is all over please tell me this is all getting blown out of proportion!!

[bronte]

hi my niece had shingles and so have a lot of people i know and none of them had any complications so dont worry in fact i personally havent heard of anyone dying from them i suppose they are worse in old people but not a healthy child or adult so dont worry x

[teez]

hun i know your worried ,,but you dont die from shingles,, when i got it my immune system was on the floor after months of chemo,,if i can survive sure you would,,plus my doctor told me its harder to contract from shingles than chicken pox,,havnt a clue why,,,you,ll be fine hope your son gets well soon x

[crazyhayz]

i had shingles at the age of 9, im 23 now, its a myth that u can die from it, in adults its very bad, and u can get very very ill with it, but at 16 its fine, my mum was told by doc that it was the first case he'd seen of a child of the age of 9 that had shingles! lol! i was fine apart from the rash being bludy annoying n itchy etc. Hes very lucky hes got it now and not when hes older, but dont worry ONE BIT. Hes fine Its not dangerous!!! xx

[Going home]

Hi there, shingles is the same virus that causes chickenpox and the virus is already in the body laying dormant so you don't catch it the same way that chickenpox can be caught, through coughs and sneezes...only with the re-activation of the virus from within. However, you can be infected through touching any of the blisters that may be weeping, so have a word with the doctor about it if you are worried. Try not to worry too much though because its not a given that you will be infected and even if you are its not serious. My son had shingles at aged 10 and his doctor called all the other doctors in to see it!

Anna xx

[JavaJoy01]

Hi everyone my son went to the doctor today and has been told he's got shingles he's 16 and lastnight I had touched were part of his rash was when I was checking what it could be,he us fine in himself and they told him it should clear up on it's own but I am really stressing in case I get it which sounds awful as I'm obviously concerned about my son but he's not worried and my so called friend just told me you can die from it so now my head is all over please tell me this is all getting blown out of proportion!!

I've had Shingles and survived it. In fact Shingles was a blessing for me because I went through my life thinking I never had chicken pox (Had such a mild case nobody knew I had it, not even my parents and I). When shingles happened, it confirmed I had em at some point in my life.

It spreads and it's itchy and can be painful. The doctor should have prescribed Herpes medication, since shingles is a form of it. Mine was stressed induced.

[ell1877]

Thanks everyone it does help to come on here and get reassurance and the patch that I had touched wasn't weeping in fact none of it is it's all dry so it should be ok shouldn't it x

[countrygirl]

Have you never had chickenpox??? If not then yes you can catch chickenpox from a weeping shingles blister but you cannot catch shingles from shingles or shingles from chickenpox if you see what I mean.

If you haven't ever had chickenpox them just keep away from touching your sons blisters and try and make sure he doens't touch them and then not wash his hands as you can spread the chickenpox infection this way.
Not wanting to worry you at all as its hightly unlikely even if you had never had chickenpox that you would catch if from him.

I didn't get chickenpox until I was 28 and its evil at that age you are very seriously ill - I would make sure everyone had it as a child! I had had many contacts before I was 28 with people with shingles including my husband but it was only when my 8yr old son caught chickinepox that I actually caught it off him.