Is it safe to let kids get chicken pox from shingles?

[runkin]

I want our kids to get chicken pox and I can't seem to figure out if it is safe to let them get it from someone who has shingles. We have a 12 year old relative that got the CP vax and has had shingles once a year for the past 3 or 4 years. If she has some weird strain of the virus from the CP vax that will cause my kids to get shingles every year than I clearly don't want them around her when it breaks out. I have also read about kids being exposed to adults when they have shingles so they get CP, and I realize that they are essentially the same virus. Just hoping to get some personal insight or links to more info about the shingles-CP connection. We are in Montana and I am having a hard time getting my kids exposed to CP. Thanks in advance all you smart ladies!

[newmomlearning]

I can't vouch for the "safety" of it, but we actually experienced this.

When she was five, my oldest daughter contracted Chicken Pox after exposure to a Teacher who had come down with Shingles.  Her two year-old sister actually got Chicken Pox first & then the five year old came down with it.

We got by with oatmeal baths and Aveeno Anti-itch cream.  They were in good spirits, but itchy.  With the two kids contracting it at different times, it did take a loong time to get through.

My girls are now 10 & 5 and healthy, happy, engaged-with-Life kids.  They did not seem harmed by Chicken Pox via Shingles.

[shiningpearl]

my sister broke out with shingles while she was tandom nursing.  The older child broke out first and then the baby (only 5 months old) got them from the sister,  they are non vaccinated and 10 and 13 now and haven't had shingles.  

I don't think he has a "weird" strain that is causing the shingles outbreak, I think his body can't clear it properly and may have a poor diet or too much stress.  

[runkin]

Thanks for the insight. Shiningpearl, I think you may be right about the cause of the reoccurring shingles. They don't have the healthiest diets in that house and there is probably more than the normal amount of stress on the kid.
 

[littlest birds]

There shouldn't be any problem with that and we have experienced it also.  When you get CP from shingles it is just regular old chicken pox with no special risks.

[AboutPediatrics]

One thing to keep in mind is that a 2009 study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal found that shingles was rare among children who received the chicken pox vaccine, and the illness usually was mild if they did get it, according to a study of 172,163 vaccinated children.

[slmommy]

Originally Posted by AboutPediatrics 

One thing to keep in mind is that a 2009 study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal found that shingles was rare among children who received the chicken pox vaccine, and the illness usually was mild if they did get it, according to a study of 172,163 vaccinated children.

Politely, I don't think this matters to anyone in the "I'm NOT Vaccinating" forum. Probably for most people here, even if they ever decided to vaccinate their children, chicken pox would probably be one of the last vaccines they would ever go for.

[lilbsmama]

Originally Posted by AboutPediatrics 

One thing to keep in mind is that a 2009 study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal found that shingles was rare among children who received the chicken pox vaccine, and the illness usually was mild if they did get it, according to a study of 172,163 vaccinated children.

How is this relevant to the OP's question?

[Rainbow Brite]

No guarantees your child would even get CP. Both my husband and I got shingles (2 years apart) and our dd never got CP!
 

[LitMom]

My child caught cp from another little girl who had cp. However, that little girl got it from her father, who had shingles. I don't think you can really predict much based on how "bad" it is for anyone else--the other girl had a rough time but recovered perfectly. My daughter had such a mild case that no one believed it was cp until her titers came back after the illness was over. 

[tchomemom]

I have a related question.....Can anyone tell me any sort of statistical risks to exposing my 14 & 12 y.o. daughters to CP at their present ages?  Is there a significantly greater risk that they could end up with Shingles.  They got the vaccine at age 1, but I did no boosters.  I have pretty much "sworn off" any additional vaccines, but was told just last night that if they didn't get chicken pox, they would absolutely HAVE to have the vaccine, or risk shingles in later life.(this from a no-vax friend....who is very against vaccinating, so I know she wouldn't encourage a vax unless it were definitely necessary)

I had an aunt who suffered with shingles and I don't want them to go through that, but we're already dealing with food allergies that I am quite certain came from the vax medium.  I don't want to further stress their bodies if I don't have to.

I'm researching the internet, but if you have any specific sites I could view, I would appreciate it.

[AmiMom]

My understanding- the CP virus hangs around in your body after the initial illness and can develop as shingles if your immune system is stressed. They are one and the same virus- so, I would think it's fine to expose them this way. Sad your niece gets shingles yearly :( I hear they're painful.

[Devaskyla]

The vax increases the risk of shingles for everyone. Shingles used to be entirely a disease of the elderly who weren't regularly around children with chicken pox to have their antibodies renewed. Children getting shingles is new and due to the vax. I remember when the vax first came out & young children started getting shingles. It was shocking. Now it seems no one thinks twice about kids getting it, not just once but repeatedly.

They got the vaccine at age 1, but I did no boosters.  I have pretty much "sworn off" any additional vaccines, but was told just last night that if they didn't get chicken pox, they would absolutely HAVE to have the vaccine, or risk shingles in later life.(this from a no-vax friend....who is very against vaccinating, so I know she wouldn't encourage a vax unless it were definitely necessary)

Your friend needs to do more research. If you've ever had the disease, or the vaccine, you can get shingles. And, thanks to the vax, the odds are a lot higher now than they were before the vax was introduced. It makes me want to move to a country that doesn't vaccinate for chicken pox...which would be most of them.

[Taximom5]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla 

The vax increases the risk of shingles for everyone. Shingles used to be entirely a disease of the elderly who weren't regularly around children with chicken pox to have their antibodies renewed. 

You are correct.

I got shingles in my early 20's, within a few weeks of receiving 4 vaccines (2 of them triple vaccines).  The dermatologist said she'd never seen a case in someone so young before.  And I had been extremely healthy prior to that--had NO underlying health issues, was active, athletic, etc.  Those vaccines also triggered celiac disease and autoimmune thyroid disease for me.