Shingles In Children - Exploding the Myths!
Posted: Thursday, April 09, 2009
by LeahG Artist
Cartoon & Illustration Services
My 5yr old boy has just been diagnosed as having Shingles.
He has two clusters of ‘red bumps' which look very much like insect bites and itch just the same. One cluster is on his right shoulder and the other on his left buttock.
Thus, a myth exploded! The myth is that Shingles only appears on a single part on the body.
Fortunately for children, they do not experience the same
debilitating and painful symptoms that adults with shingles experience.
There is no outward indication of a virus other than the appearance of
the itchy rash.
I have kept my son's itching under control with prescribed aqueous callamine cream. The itching is not severe enough for an anti-histamine product.
A great resource for finding out why shingles in children occurs, how contagious it is (or rather isn't) and how to treat it etc. can be found here:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_shingles_hhg.htm
The source indicates that Shingles is only contagious if you make contact with the rash itself and even then only to people who have not yet contracted chicken pox. Shingles is worse for adults and can reoccur more than once. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women and as such anyone with Shingles should avoid contact.
Shingles is apparently caused by the already contracted chicken pox virus which then lies dormant in the system and reawakens (perhaps during times of low immunity, stress or ill health) as Shingles.
As stated, Shingles in children is usually without any other symptom aside from the appearance of the rash (which may leave scars) and itching. BUT if the rash is near the eyes or nose then medical attention should be sought immediately.
For adults with Shingles or adults worried about contracting Shingles, a great source of information is here:
He has two clusters of ‘red bumps' which look very much like insect bites and itch just the same. One cluster is on his right shoulder and the other on his left buttock.
Thus, a myth exploded! The myth is that Shingles only appears on a single part on the body.
I have kept my son's itching under control with prescribed aqueous callamine cream. The itching is not severe enough for an anti-histamine product.
A great resource for finding out why shingles in children occurs, how contagious it is (or rather isn't) and how to treat it etc. can be found here:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_shingles_hhg.htm
The source indicates that Shingles is only contagious if you make contact with the rash itself and even then only to people who have not yet contracted chicken pox. Shingles is worse for adults and can reoccur more than once. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women and as such anyone with Shingles should avoid contact.
Shingles is apparently caused by the already contracted chicken pox virus which then lies dormant in the system and reawakens (perhaps during times of low immunity, stress or ill health) as Shingles.
As stated, Shingles in children is usually without any other symptom aside from the appearance of the rash (which may leave scars) and itching. BUT if the rash is near the eyes or nose then medical attention should be sought immediately.
For adults with Shingles or adults worried about contracting Shingles, a great source of information is here:
http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/shingles.html
All the above aside, some
people dispute the medical opinion re how Shingles is contracted. Some
believe that the chicken pox vaccine itself is responsible for an
increase of Shingles in children. I am not aware of the details of this
or how valid their concerns are. Neither of my children had this
vaccine and both contracted chicken pox the regular way….from their
friends without any serious consequence.
Meanwhile, as to how to treat Shingles in children.
Keep them off school for 7 days is the Doctors
advice (to me) and away from pregnant women and other children without
their parents consent.
My Doctor also suggested it was unlikely any of
the family would ‘catch' the Shingles from my son, but said it was
possible. That is despite the fact we've all had chicken pox and the
advice on the sources suggests we cannot ‘catch' Shingles as Shingles
is a dormant virus which if it appears, it's appears as a result of our
own virus not someone elses!
I don't know who is right, but in light of the contradictory advice, caution is recommended.
My advice is to
apply cream to your child with Shingles while wearing a surgical glove
or let them apply the cream themselves under your strict supervision.
Issue them with their own towel and don't allow any sharing of towels until the virus has cleared.
Avoid cuddling you child, sharing eating appliances and definitely do not touch that rash!
These are my tips not those recommended by the medical profession, but they can't hurt any!
Edit: After having Googled for pictures of Shingles in children I am doubting my child has shingles afterall! I think they are insect bites which may explain why they appear in more than one place on his body. But I will exercise caution in any case.
Pics of Shingles (from the web) in children
LeahG Artist and Designer
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illustrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illustrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
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More commentsHi,My 11yr old son has just been diagnosed with Shingles, I had no idea that kids could get it! We thought they were insect bites, but last night the blistering started down the left side of his body. He is in lots of pain. We think that this was bought on by bullying that has been going on in his school. He is on penicillin and pain relief. A big problem is that he has a skin disorder which means that all the spots and blisters will leave bad scarring. But never mind, it could be worse!!
I have just discovered this site whilst googling shingles in children and I have found it very helpful. Thank you
Thanks for all the info. I too did not know that kids can get shingles. I will bookmark this article and save just in case - I also have a young boy. Good luck to you!
My son was just diagnosed with shingles and has very debilitating pain. In fact we thought he had a fractured arm prior to the rash appearing. He is wearing a sling and has had xrays and was prescribed Tylenol with codeine. We were just prescribed some antivirals. weird part. He hasn't had chicken pox and has been vaccinated against chicken pox.
My 5 yr old niece came up with the shingles,AND she's never had chicken pox! Anyone know how this is possible???Anyone have this experience before??
My 11 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with shingles. She was given antivirul drugs and paracetomal. She has 2 rashes on left side of her back and top right of chest. She had a fever to start and now says the rash is uncomfortable and painful to lie on. She is off her food and a bit listless. Other than that we are hoping that in a week or so she will have recovered. I was shocked when she was diagnosed yesterday and asked the docter loads of questions......it's good that there's sites like this and others as I have learnt a lot more on the internet. Instinct tells me to try and give her lots of fresh fruit and fluids. I'll also get her a good quality vitamin supply. She is normally healthy and very active...eats well and never ill. It has baffled me why she has got shingles.....can anyone shed a light??I hope your daughter made a good recovery Christine.
My four year old has been diagnosed with shingles. He has had his chicken pox vaccine and never had the actual chicken pox. How can he still have shingles.
Thankyou, at last someone else who is going through this too recently. I have looked everywhere to find someone else who is experiencing this. Our 8 year old daughter has shingles and don't believe that they don't have pain because she does. She had chickenpox, not too bad as a preschooler. The GP said it's a myth that if you get a mild case when you are younger you are more likely to get shingles-if you are to believe all a doctor tells you. A friends toddler son had it whe I was pregnant a few years ago. I think there is a lot of confusion as to how contagious it is. We got some calamine and I try to distract her from thinking about the pain which so far has helped. I will have to give her paracet or brufen if it gets worse. I worry about her liver and kidneys and keep asking her if she has had a wee or if she has pain I worry it's her liver! Poor thing!!! She told me about an itchy rash on Thursday one sided which spread round her back the next day. She first noticed the rash on the Monday but I didn't know as I work and her dad said oh yes I saw that the other day and it still looks the same! I kept her off school, luckily and got an evening appointment at the Doctors. Not even the Doctor believed it and practically said "why have you even brought her here!?!" and had to look it up. I only recognised it because a friends mum had it after radiotherapy(funnily enough her GP didn't believe she had breast cancer when she did and luckily she was sensible enough to get a second opinion,) a few years ago. The senior guy came along, smiled and knew what it was straight away, funny how the Doctor believed him but not me, just analysing/ labelling me as a paranoid mum!!!. She was prescribed antivirals that is usually for adults or the chicken pox dose for children, so I had to confirm that it was the right thing to do the next day. The senior said he would give it to his child and thought it was being kinder to treat and wouldn't recommend prescribing it if he didn't think it was necessary. I am so worried that we are doing the right thing giving her the meds what with all the side effects and there is no-one to ask/ reassure us. Most of the sites say "it's rare in children, they could be immunocomromised, don't need treatment etc" It doesn't help when you work in healthcare either! She is a small sporty girl, eats well and is otherwise healthy. The Senior GP said he sees it "frequently". Perhaps it is just something that people don't talk about, goes undetected. Any thanks for your website. At least I know we are not the only ones going through this! Cheers and wishing you all well!Poor wee thing!! It does indeed seem like we're still not getting the full facts, maybe they don't them themselves?? I hope your daughter is better very soon!! xx
My 5 year old son has just been diagnosed with shingles. He has a rash on his right thigh and a small spot starting in the middle of his back. He had chicken pox as a newborn and has also had the chicken pox vaccination. I noticed the rash a couple of days ago but he had been playing outside and told me that an ant had bit him, so I just assumed it may have been a bite, I gave him an anti histamine. The doctor got a second opinion cause he said he was certain it was shingles but because my son is only 5 he would get a second opinion, the doctor came in and immediately gave the same diagnosis. Neither doctor recommended any antibiotics because of his age. So far my son hasn't complained of any pain, just an itch but not constant and the calamine lotion seems to soothe it immediately. He hasn't had a fever and to be honest except for the rash you would think nothing was wrong with him. The doctor also told me he is not contagious unless you touch the rash itself and that we shouldn't share towels but its unlikely any of us will get it. If our status changes I'll keep you informed so other parents can find information too. It's just hard to know what to believe.
I had Shingles when I was in the 3rd grade, and it's the most pain I have ever had with the only possible exception being when I had kidney stones a couple of years ago. It's horrible.
My son is 5 years old he was diagnosed on wedensday got cream off doctor he was in a lot of pain so took him to que doc Thursday and he got medicine it is now saturday and it has spread all over his back and belly and chest and hasn't been sleeping he is still in a lot of pain the teacher told me he should be in hospital what can I do to help him he keeps crying saying it hurts
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