chickenpox/shingles

jend114
jend114 Posts: 1,058 Member
edited October 2024 in Chit-Chat
Medical people help me here.

You can't get shingles unless you've had the chicken pox. true or false?

Replies

  • p0stdramatic
    p0stdramatic Posts: 372
    False. My mother never had chicken pox but did have shingles in her 60's.


    Edited to add: as far as she knows she never had chicken pox. She claimed she never had it.
  • hojo94
    hojo94 Posts: 140 Member
    I read on line that you can in fact get them with out having had Chickenpox (yes, I read up on it trying to figure out if I really had shingles a year ago.... and, yes, I did... they suck)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    It's the same virus, but I think some people who get exposed to the virus never actually develop chicken pox. They can still get shingles.
  • afigueroa_pr
    afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
    My understanding is that if you were never exposed to the Varicella- Zoster virus (which causes chicken pox) you cannot get shingles.
    But here is what Web-MD has to say about the subject:

    http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-topic-overview
  • DWilbanks
    DWilbanks Posts: 420 Member
    false, you can get shingles any time, but shingles can turn into chicken pox if you haven't had the pox. I just saw this on the doctors show last week.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Yes, as far as I know you can (I just entered it into google lol)

    I do know though that you can catch chicken pox (if you've never had it before) from somebody who has shingles.
  • dreamshadows
    dreamshadows Posts: 734 Member
    Yes, as far as I know you can (I just entered it into google lol)

    I do know though that you can catch chicken pox (if you've never had it before) from somebody who has shingles.

    Very true. When I had shingles, I had to stay home to prevent transmitting chicken pox.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories