shingles and pregnant woman

[oshee1122]

why is it that people that are pregnant sould say away from people who has shingles ? a couple nurses i know told me that if u are around someone with shingles it could cause harm to the unborn child why is that? what would it do i mean i already had chicken pox as a child so as long as im immune to it my child should be right????

[oshee1122]

thank you guys for all your answers i was always told to stay away from my patients with shingles and no one ever explained why to me im working on my nursing degree maybe i will find out more about it

[emmiesmam]

in my 1st pregnancy i came into contact with someone who had chicken pox i was 19 weeks and had to go to hospital for a dose of medicine injected into my leg before 20 weeks it can be fatal or cause mental problems to the baby iv heard shingles is even worse to come into contact with while pregnant. a lady i know got chicken pox when she was 16 weeks which resulted in her losing the baby we all av to be very careful and stay safe i was terrified when i was going through it buy everything was ok untill i got pre-clampsia at 29 weeks and delivered at 31 weeks fingers crossed this pregnancy is going ok xx

[Sae45]

Having chicken pox does NOT make you immune to shingles, and they are dangerous (in some cases) and painful.
Regardless of if it does or will harm the baby, it's defintely not something I would want while pregnant, or any time for that matter.

It's a virus, and I;m pretty sure that's probably not a good thing to have while pregnant..

[Heatherm4]

The only way that it could do anything to you is if the other person that has shingles is blistering and pus is coming out of them. If it is crusted over then it won't do anything. You just don't want to touch them directly and make sure that person is not touching or scratching them and washing their hands.
If you've had chicken pox then you aren't immune to shingles. It's the virus laying dormant in your body and can come up any time when your immune system is compromised and pregnancy is one of those times. I also had shingles before pregnancy and yes it's terrible. I still feel the nerve pain at times.

[anwright]

My mom has them it is a dormant. If you have had the chicken pox you can get them. I had know idea they were harmful to the unborn baby tho. I will check with my doc tomorrow I go in.

[kamil119]

I had it, I was not pregnant, but it's very painful, I had to take some meds that I had left over from my c-section to ease the pain. Apparently, it happens from the chicken pox virus sitting dormant in your body and when your immune system is weak, it strikes. I'm not sure it would cause any harm to the baby, but I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone!

[mamaof4410]

No if you come in contact with a child that has chicken pox and you get it, it can be very harmful for your baby. It's a virus. The same thing as shingles but they hurt more and are more common among geriatrics. My DH got them when he was 18 and the doctor couldnt explain why he'd gotten them. And just because you got the chicken pox as a kid does not mean you can't get them again. It can harm your baby due to the virus you contract when coming into contact with someone that has them.