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Maternal (Expert Forum)
Does chicken pox exposure causes Shingles in the elderly?
Patient medical question and answer from The Maternal and Child Health Forum. Health topic area and articles about newborn care
Does chicken pox exposure causes Shingles in the elderly?
by Andrew__0, Jun 30, 1998 12:00AM
My two year old son has currently got chicken pox. We were to be attending
a small family party where the rest of the guests have had chicken pox in
past. Some concerns were raised that exposure to my sons chicken pox
would possibly lead to shingles. We were sure this was not the case, but
we wanted to make sure. Can exposure to chicken pox lead to the reactivation
of the shingles virus?
Dear Andrew:
The chickenpox virus persists in a latent(hidden, capable of being reactivated)form in the body
after the primary infection. Reactivation of the virus results in herpes zoster ("shingles").
The reactivation process is not fully understood, but is more common in immunocompromised
individuals. Mere exposure to chickenpox is not associated with reactivation.
This information is provided for educational purposes only.
