Exposed to Shingles...???

tls21bird

I just found out my husbands grandma has shingles yesterday. I feel so bad for her she is so wonderful & spunky at 91 yrs of age. Anyway, we were at family party 2 weeks ago with her, is that too long away to be concerned?????

SmallandNeedy

Shingles is hard to get -- i wouldn't worry!

flyer23

Have you had chicken pox before? Or have you had a chicken pox vaccine? It's the same virus (shingles is a re-activation of the virus that causes chicken pox), so if you're immune to chicken pox, you don't have to worry.

If you are NOT immune to chicken pox, you're probably fine if you haven't seen her in 2 weeks -- she probably wasn't contagious back then. But you might want to let your OB know, just in case.

axr8111

Call your OB, but my mom's doctor told her that she wasn't contagous at all when she had shingles because it is more of an inner virus that was caused by her already having it, not having got it from someone. Call your OB just be sure though.?

ibis

It's not easy to catch shingles. You'd have to have had skin-to-skin contact with active lesions. If she didn't have symptoms (specifically the sores) when you saw her, there is no chance that you could have caught it.

roxyttandme

As I understand it- you are only at risk if it were her first outbreak. The Shingles virus is of the herpes family and "if" contracted- can be dangerous. I would ask your OB just to be sure.

Luv-a-Bug

ibis:

It's not easy to catch shingles. You'd have to have had skin-to-skin contact with active lesions. If she didn't have symptoms (specifically the sores) when you saw her, there is no chance that you could have caught it.

This.  I had them when I was in college.  They had me take medicine for it, and I continued going to classes and seeing friends and whatnot while I had them.  They were on my side at my bra line, so they were always covered by clothes.  As long as you don't come in contact with the open (active) sores, you're likely to be safe.

Tcarrol12

 I work at a nursing home and we have had 3 cases in the last month! And no one in my family has ever had chicken pox or the vaccine and we are not immune to it. I was losing my mind at first but then I talked to someone at work and found out the only way to really get them is to pretty much touch one of the sores! Im sure you would have noticed if she had those.