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Just wanted to add you can have had shingles without ever having chicken pox and although rare you can get them at any time (I had shingles at the age of 5 but never had chicken pox). Shingles and chicken pox are in the same family but are different and look different. I have not had another outbreak since the age of 5 although I have been exposed to chicken pox.
AnswerMost cases of shingles are caused by the varicella-zoster virus. A few are caused by herpes simplex. So, yes, it is possible to get shingles from a latent herpes simplex infection if you have never had chicken pox.
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∙ 13y ago
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∙ 10y agoNo, you cannot get shingles if you never had chicken pox. However, you can get chicken pox from exposure to the virus in shingles if you never had chicken pox before.
Chicken pox is a one-time illness, usually in childhood. It does not matter how "mild" or "bad" the chicken pox is. The body's defenses are activated whether "mild" or "bad" and immunity results. No person acquires chicken pox twice.
Shingles is caused by the same virus but with shingles, the virus is re-activated within the person's own body (not from catching the chicken pox virus from someone else). A person who never had chicken pox cannot get shingles; but that person who never had chicken pox can get chicken pox.
A person who has shingles can infect others with chicken pox, but only if those persons (usually children) never had chicken pox before. If a person with shingles is around a person/child who already had chicken pox, the other people won't get chicken pox or shingles.
The defining factors in shingles are:
- The person already had chicken pox
- The person is generally over 50 years old
- The person may also have a compromised immune system
No; you must have chicken pox first to get shingles.
Yes. I had it when I was four directly after (maybe even during) an outbreak of chickenpox. Apparently, it's very rare, but if you are worried, then check it out with a GP.
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∙ 10y agoThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the chicken pox vaccine for 60 years old and older to prevent shingles, whether or not you had chickenpox in the past. This is a one-time vaccination.
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∙ 13y agoThe ONLY way to have had shingles is to have had chicken pox before. Chicken pox typically affects children. The case could be mild, moderate, or severe. The body is exposed to the virus, and successfully develops antibodies to that virus. That person can never get chicken pox again.
But, later in life, often after age 50, a person who previously had chicken pox can then develop shingles. The virus of shingles is contagious during the time that the sores are open and weeping-- just like in chicken pox. So a person who has shingles currently with open sores can infect a child who has never had chicken pox but typically only with direct contact with the fluid coming from the sores. But a child who previously had chicken pox is typically protected and will not "re-get" chicken pox from an adult with shingles.
An adult who never, ever had chicken pox as a child who comes in contact with a child who has chicken pox will then be exposed and at risk to develop chicken pox.
An adult who never, ever had chicken pox as a child who comes in contact with an adult who has shingles, and is exposed to the fluid from the sores, will develop chicken pox--- not shingles.
Once any person -- adult or child-- has had chicken pox and the sores dry, crust, and disappear, they then "carry" the virus but cannot infect anyone because the open, weeping sores are gone.
Once any person -- adult or child-- has had chicken pox and the sores dry, crust, and disappear, they then "carry" the virus and are then at risk to develop shingles at any time, usually after age 50. The person would not "re-get" chicken pox.
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Can you get shingles from lying in a bed after someone else who had shingles say in a hospital?
Shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus. You do not get shingles from someone with shingles; you get chickenpox from someone with shingles. Then when you get older, you will get shingles because you had chickenpox. Or, you might get older and never get chickenpox. In that case, you will thank your mother for having you vaccinated against chickenpox when you were a child.
Are shingles catchy?
No. You can however catch chickenpox from the shingles if you've never had them before. The shingles themselves come from a dormant chickenpox virus in your skin tissue.
Can one pimple be shingles?
No. You only get shingles's if you have had chickenpox. No chickenpox no shingles's.
Is it possible to get chickenpox from some one who has shingles when you have only had shingles at a young age and not chickenpox?
First, you can't get shingles at any age unless you have previously had chickenpox. Although your chickenpox illness may have been so mild that you didn't notice, a diagnosis of shingles is proof that you had chickenpox. Second, only those who have never had chickenpox can get chickenpox from shingles. Third, shingles is only contagious through direct contact with wet lesions, and is not likely to be spread through casual contact.
How long after being exposed to shingles will you get it?
IF you're going to get chickenpox from a shingles exposure, it would take between 10 and 21 days to get chickenpox. You'd have to never have had chickenpox before to get shingles, however, even if you'd never had chickenpox, you still might not catch them from being exposed to shingles.
Where in the world do you find chickenpox and shingles?
Chickenpox and shingles are found throughout the world.
Can shingles or chickenpox be transferred by a third party?
Shingles and chickenpox can only be transferred by someone who is infected.
You have idiopathic urticaria can you get shingles from someone with chickenpox?
You can't get shingles from someone with chickenpox, whatever your other medical conditions. You only get shingles from reactivation of your own prior infection with chickenpox virus.
How likely are you to get chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox?
You could get chicken pox if you have never had it before. However, while your chances of getting chicken pox from someone with shingles is in the realm of possibility, you will rarely come across someone with shingles, since they are mostly home with the illness.
Can you get shingles from someone if you have had chickenpox?
No, it is not.
Can you catch shingles from other children who have shingles?
No. While you can catch chickenpox, shingles comes from a virus already within you (chickenpox virus) so you can only have shingles if you have previously had chickenpox. I myself had shingles back when I was in the fourth grade but neither my brother nor my sister ever had it.
If you are vaccinated against chickenpox can you still get shingles?
No, there is no reason to get chickenpox vaccine if you've had shingles. You should talk with your health care provider about shingles vaccine.
