Confusion re: chickenpox/shingles

[Faerieshadow]

I thought that people who had cp were more protected from getting shingles, not the other way around? I was doing some vax research and came across this...

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/...es/default.htm

Shingles is a painful localized skin rash often with blisters that is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox. Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles because VZV remains in the nerve cells of the body after the chickenpox infection clears and VZV can reappear years later causing shingles. Shingles most commonly occurs in people 50 years old or older, people who have medical conditions that keep the immune system from working properly, or people who receive immunosuppressive drugs.

Color me confused. I apologize if this is a dumb question... I don't get much sleep these days with two sick kiddos.

[just_lily]

You can only get shingles if you have had CP. Or the vax.

[Faerieshadow]

Maybe I am thinking of the dangers of adults who have not had cp coming in contact w/shingles....

nak thanks for the clarification

[ell]

When you get the chicken pox, the virus never "dies" out of your body. It basically goes in to hiding in your nervous system, and can crop up at any time, showing up as shingles. (The chicken pox is a variant of the herpes virus and thus works much the same as herpes does - once you have it, it's never gone).

You cannot get shingles without having had the chicken pox first (or the vax).

[Sarah W]

I've had chicken pox, then shingles about 20 years later.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by ell

When you get the chicken pox, the virus never "dies" out of your body. It basically goes in to hiding in your nervous system, and can crop up at any time, showing up as shingles. (The chicken pox is a variant of the herpes virus and thus works much the same as herpes does - once you have it, it's never gone).

You cannot get shingles without having had the chicken pox first (or the vax).

Correct. The thing is that shingles is now much more common because the lack of exposure to full blown chicken pox in each generation due to the vaccine, plus (imo) people are on all sort of allopathic medicine and that weakens the immune system. (blood thinners, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. etc. etc.)

I had chicken pox as a child and my kids had chicken pox growing up. We've exposed our grandchildren to chicken pox several times, so along the way, I feel I've gotten boosters. I do not anticipate shingles in my life time. (Maybe I am just hopeful, but them I do believe in positive thinking and do NOT believe in the Nocebo effect.)

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

i had shingles when i was 14, and from what the doctor i saw at the time told me, is that if you get a mild form of cp, you are more likely to get shingles then if you had a moderate to severe case of it. I remember having cp when i was 4 years old and i only had 4-6 pox, so it was very mild.

[Ell-Bell]

DS is at a pox party as I type. He gets babysat by grandparents- all of whom have had CP. My dad also had shingles about a year ago.

Does CP bring out shingles in other people? I mean, will DS having CP be bad for the grandparents if they still babysit?

[2boyzmama]

Here's how I understand it:

You can only get shingles if you have had chicken pox, or you have the vaccine (because it's a live virus vaccine). The virus is "stored" in your nerven cells in a dormant state.

HOWEVER, continuous exposure to chicken pox "primes" your immune system and the virus is less likely to resurge (because your antibodies stay active)

If you have some sort of lowering of your immune system (some other illness, stress, possibly even an injury), then the virus can become active again, and shows up as Shingles.

SO...by drastically reducing the circulation of the wild virus chicken pox (by vaccinating), more and more people are getting shingles because their immune systems are not being constantly exposed to the virus, and their antibodies are not primed to kill it.

The same company that made the chicken pox vaccine, developed a shingles vaccine soon after. Coincidence?? By the way, the company acknowledges that there are higher rates of shingles, but attributes it to Americans living longer, not to the chicken pox vaccine.

The most recent Mothering magazine has a good article about vaccines in general, but lays out the chicken pox/shingles issue well.

[kiwiva]

Originally Posted by Ell-Bell

DS is at a pox party as I type. He gets babysat by grandparents- all of whom have had CP. My dad also had shingles about a year ago.

Does CP bring out shingles in other people? I mean, will DS having CP be bad for the grandparents if they still babysit?

No, the GPs will not get shingles from your DC having chicken pox. It only goes the other way.

It may be good for them to hang with DC so it will give them a booster and make them less likely to get shingles at some other time. Though you may not want them to babysit. When DD had cp earlier this year she was a very very grumpy girl (that was actually the only bad part of the illness for her).