Oh no! 20 days to go and my mom has shingles..advise please

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

Just found out on Friday my mom has shingles, now today my dad has them too.
How contagious are they? We are leaving in 20 days and my granddaughters, 2,3,4 who are going with us have been exposed to them. They live beside great grandparents so they see them often. Do we need to stop them from going over? One person says not to worry another says that they are extremely catchy!
I don't want anyone to get sick while we are going...so worried!
Thanks for advise and knowledge

[Advnt05]

From the CDC site:

Can shingles be spread to others?
Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles, VZV, can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has never had chickenpox through direct contact with the rash. The person exposed would develop chickenpox, not shingles. The virus is not spread through sneezing, coughing or casual contact. A person with shingles can spread the disease when the rash is in the blister-phase. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious. A person is not infectious before blisters appear or with post-herpetic neuralgia (pain after the rash is gone).

[Lynn J Mc]

I had shingles last year and no one I came in contact with got them. Good luck on your trip.

[Little Round Bale]

My mom had these not at disney but during the summer 2 years ago. She mostly had trouble with the pain. The med the doctor gave mom helped clear the sores but she said she felt a lot of pain. Sooooooo make sure mom has her meds and oinments needed to make her comfy as possible. Tell the doc about the vacation, go and enjoy. Tons of pixie dust for mom.

[d_m_n_n]

I can't confirm how contagious they are, but DS10 had shingles and slept with DS6. The dr. told us they needed to be seperated, but we figured any damage had already been done. DS6 never came down with them. DS6 has never had the chicken pox, but did have the vaccination for it.

[diz_girl]

Don't worry - You Can Not Catch Shingles. I repeat - You Can Not Catch Shingles.

I had this last year while I was pregnant and got a big education about it from my dermatologist. Just Google shingles for more information.

A person who has Shingles cannot transmit shingles to another person. Just like Advnt05 stated, a person with shingles can transmit the chicken pox to someone who's never had the disease, but only when shingles is in it's blister phase. If the blisters are dried up, then you are no longer contagious for chicken pox. I had to stay home from work while my shingles was active, so that I wouldn't accidentally give someone chicken pox. It was on my wrist, so I could have easily transmitted it.

If your children have not been fully immunized for chicken pox, keep them away from your parents (as in avoiding contact) until their blisters are dried up. That's the biggest worry - to have your children come down with chicken pox, especially on your WDW vacation.

Here's how most people get shingles:
A - They must have had chicken pox before. If you haven't had chicken pox, then you can't get shingles. Period. After the chicken pox, the virus that causes shingles lays dormat in the nerve cells near the spine.
B- They're old. As you get older, you're immune system gets weaker, and you're chance of having shingles grows stronger. 1 of every 2 people over the age of 80 gets shingles.

Also, people with compromised immune systems who are younger can also develop shingles. I was pregnant (which was unusual for shingles) and it also broke out in two places (also unusual). Those who develop it while they're younger (unfortunately for me) may have repeated cases of it.

My MIL had shingles at Christmas and no matter how many times I told her that she couldn't catch shingles, she kept wondering where she got it. I really just wanted to say here's how you got it - you're old.

Hopefully, the doctors caught your mother's and father's cases quickly. The quicker you catch it, the quicker that drug treatment can begin, which should lessen the severity and duration of shingles. Your parents' cases arriving at the same time must be a coincidence. Are they under a lot of stress for some reason? Sometimes stress can weaken the immune system enough for shingles to flare-up.

My MIL waited pretty long before seeking treatment and had a painful time of it for a couple of months. I started treatment the day that the blisters showed up and had pain for about a week or two. It was itchy while in blister form, but not so painful that I was suffering. I only took the one anti-viral drug for it and used some calamine lotion and I could tolerate it just fine.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

My mom had them last year and none of us got them...she starting feeling better in about a week with meds

[meldan98]

My dad had it too and his biggest issue was the pain. Once he got the medication, he was okay in a couple of weeks. We did keep my dd away while he had the rash, but she was less than a year old and hadn't had both of the vax shots yet.

[MNNHFLTX]

We recently had another thread on INTERCOT about shingles that you might find interesting:

Does anyone know anything about shingles?

It is pure coincidence that both of your parents are having flare-ups at the same time. Maybe age and stress are suppressing both of their immune systems right now. But don't worry--as long as everyone in your party has either had chicken pox itself or the vaccine, there is no danger of it being contagious. And even then it would have to be direct contact with the lesions. diz-girl gave a good overview of all that in her post.

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

Thank you so much for the replies. I feel better. Both my mom and dad getting it within days of each other surprised our doctor too. but they both got on medication quickly.
Not sure if youngest granddaughter just turned 2 has had vaccination yet or not...my daughter will call doctor to find out. Just worried because incubation period for chicken pox is 21 days I think...and that would be the time we are leaving....I can see it now as these little spots start appearing on the plane....

[MNNHFLTX]

It's understandable that this worries you a bit. If your parents shingles lesions are in the the most common areas (on the torso, usually the lower back and waistline in front), I would think it would be unlikely that the grandaughter has come in contact with them. She will probably be just fine.

[quest4dl]

There is a shingles vaccination that is now available. It was being recommended only for those over 60 who have had chicken pox but the new recommendation is now those over 50 who have had chicken pox.