I get about 8 hits a day from people wanting to read about Shingles in children. Even after all of this time, an old post of mine from 2006 remains in fifth position for the topic on Google. I have been so surprised by this!
Apparently, there still isn’t a lot of information out there regarding Shingles in Children. In my experience, what was on-line was often Mis-Information. (ie., Shingles aren’t contagious, Shingles remain on one side of the body, and Shingles primarily manifest in patients with severely lowered immune systems. I found NONE of these things to be true.)
In October of 2006, several of my children came down with Shingles. It took awhile for us to figure out what it was, but by the time all things were said and done five of our (then) seven children came down with Shingles. That defied my previous thoughts that 1) Children did not get shingles, at least not easily, and 2) that Shingles were not contagious as Shingles, but that Shingles were contagious as Chicken-Pox.
I believe that we are beginning to see some “morphing” or mutation of the varicella-zoster virus. I know, by anecdotal evidence of the parents that stop by this blog to read of my experiences with Shingles in children, that this is becoming a more widespread problem for children.
My thoughts are that this is tied into the requirement for all school-aged children to have the chicken-pox vaccine. A few of my children have had the chicken pox vaccine. Every child of mine that has had the vaccine has also now had the chicken pox AND shingles. Some that have NOT had the vaccine have had shingles, too. My nine year old daughter had the vaccination as a baby, then had shingles at 7 years old, then had chicken pox this fall again! In November of 2007 I took my 13 year old son into a Medical Center because he had a sore on his head that looked either like a Shingle pock or MRSA. The attending doctor mentioned that it looked like Shingles, but didn’t think it was that because children rarely get Shingles. He almost fell over when I told him…”Oh, yeah. We had that last year!” Although tests were run, we never did learn what the spot was.
I see that the CDC is recommending a second shot in the series to prevent Chicken Pox. I seriously question the wisdom in that!
I can not prove any of this, of course, but I wonder if in an attempt to wipe out Chicken-Pox we have created an epidemic of Shingles in children? If so, Shingles are much more difficult on the individual and longer lasting than Chicken-Pox. When this vaccine first came out, I questioned whether or not there had been enough research, over a long enough period of time, to warrant its requirement. They administered the vaccine to a broad base of children, without waiting to see what happened to the children who grew up having had the vaccine. Did it actually work over a long period of time, or did it cause people to get Chicken-Pox into adulthood? Adults who get Chicken-Pox actually have a much harder time than children. The risks are higher and the symptoms more pronounced for adults. Did the Chicken-Pox vaccine do something to our immune systems that triggered Shingles?
So parents, as you surf the web and come across this post, please feel free to leave your stories here. Maybe something good will come of it. You can read my first Shingles update here:
March 28, 2008 at 9:39 am |
I remember hearing a very simplified version of how the body responds to a virus when in college biology. I have since learned that there is oh so much more involved.
We are really made to believe that vaccines are just a little bit of magic to keep you from getting sick with no possible down sides. I was under the false impression that a persons immune system forms antibodies to these viruses and poof the antibody kills the virus and no more virus.
Apparently the virus becomes incoded into a person DNA (to varying degrees) That is how they can check to see if you have an immunity; the disease; or no immunity. Of course there are unfortunate individuals who maintain a chronic level of a virus which puts undue stress on the immune system.
Not to ramble on, but I do think you are correct in your thinking on this. Unfortunately there is nothing out there that can tell you this is definitely the case. There are many who will tell you with conviction that all vaccinations are good. I wish there was more unbiased information on this offered by Dr’s and hospitals.
On a humorous note. It seems to me that when we were children chicken pox was sort of a childhood right of passage, like losing your front teeth. Now you have a tough time even if you wanted your child to catch them.
I suppose for our parents or grandparents it was the same for the mumps and measles.
March 28, 2008 at 6:19 pm |
When I was 5 years old (I am now turning 40), I was diagnosed with shingles on my face. We lived in a very small town and the Dr. sent me to a larger hospital for treatment. The shingles were so bad that I almost lost my eye. I remember the severe pain and itching. I was left with huge scars on the right side of my forehead and down by my eye. When I was 6 months old, I had a very light case of chicken pox. My mom said I only had about 6 small places on my body. When I was being treated for shingles, the dr. asked about my chicken pox experience. He said that they found that people who had a light case of chicken pox where more likely to get shingles. He adviced me to stay clear of chicken pox because they were unsure how it was all related.
I have been exposed to chicken pox many times over the years, and I have never had any other problems with shingles. We did not allow our 5 children to get the chicken pox vaccine. In our opinion, chicken pox is a harmless childhood illness in most cases so why vaccinate for it. Our pediatrician was fine with this, but he did have some concerns for our last child who just turned four. He said that now so many people have had the vaccine that it may be hard for our youngest to get exposed and take chicken pox. This could put him at risk to have it as an adult which can cause problems.
grace and peace,
julie
March 28, 2008 at 6:29 pm |
I don’t have a Shingles story, but I did question my pediatrician repeatedly about the safety studies of the Varicella immunization and did not feel my questions were answered satisfactorily so we skipped these shots for both kids. It’s only because we had such a bad experience with the first, what, 20 or so vaccines in the first year of my daughter’s life that I even thought or knew to ask questions at all.
My daughter has had all her vaccinations, except for the rota, varicella and Gardisil (shudder). She is only three so I’m not being pressured about the Gardisil one just yet. I had the same thoughts as you, Holly, regarding the varicella shot and safety/long-term studies so we passed (same for the rota one). Maybe it’s because I’m already ridiculously skeptical of the vaccination schedule and number of shots being recommended these days. Also, it’s likely because my daughter had extreme reactions to the vaccinations (particularly the Hep B all three times and the flu shot), requiring hospitalization and continuing into delayed development and growth with mysterious kidney problems. It’s possible she had something underlying to begin with and the vaccinations only aggravated or triggered it. Either way, there is no way to tell when you give a five day old baby such an unnecessary and possibly unsafe vaccine (there have been NO safety studies done on newborns and the effects of the Hep B shot – the safety studies were done on kids over five I believe).
Anyway, after multiple reactions, I started reading, not knowing initially there was anything to read about since we all had vaccines as kids and there wasn’t any big deal about it. I’m not anti-vaccine, but I’m certainly anti-ignorance at this point and I have a hard time with the lack of forthcoming information and hidden conflicts of interest from vaccine study researchers from the CDC. We have done a much more delayed vaccination schedule with my second child when after two rounds of vaccinations at two and four months (we skipped the Hep B this time), he responded the same way my daughter did, winding up in the ER for the same mysterious dehydration, high fever, excessive crying, etc. And now, 15 months later, he’s healthy, happy, outgrowing my older daughter and developing skills very nicely.
March 28, 2008 at 11:47 pm |
That’s interesting to know. I actually caught chickenpox when I was 12 from my dad who had shingles.
After extensive research, I decided against all vaccines for my kids. My first was selectively vaxed until 10 mo. and he had more colds in his first year and a half than I would have expected. My younger one, completely vax free, has had 1 stomach bug and 1 cold and he’s almost a year old now. I notice a difference in his energy/activity level too…although that could be personality too.
April 5, 2008 at 2:41 am |
Thank you so much for your information! My twelve-year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Shingles. At first it was just the rash, but after about 3 days she developed the intense pain, affecting her at school and her ability to sleep. My husband took her to a dermatologist today and she received a prescription for Valtrex, but I am cautious (scared!) about giving it to her. I cannot find any studies of its use on children, and to make matters worse every site I have seen says “Valtrex is NOT for use in children”, but I cannot access any indepth information. I am so sorry that other children have experienced Shingles, but selfishly I am relieved that it is not just my daughter.
April 19, 2008 at 1:44 am |
My son was just was diagnosed at 13 with Shingles. He had chicken pox when he was 1. He has not had the vaccine. It really puzzels me as to why he has come down with Shingles now so early.
April 24, 2008 at 10:41 am |
Just came back from the ER where I learned that my 7 year old son has a mild case of shingles (and hoping it will remain mild). He got the Varivax shot at age 2 I believe and I don’t remember him ever having chickenpox, unless it was so mild we didn’t even notice. Still, it makes me wonder if the shingles are not somehow a result of the vaccine.
And you are right to wonder about the impact of mass vaccination, I found the following article: http://www.vran.org/vaccines/cpox/shingles-threat.htm not too reassuring, at least for older adults.
April 27, 2008 at 8:02 am |
My four year old son was diagnosed last week with strep…then 3 days ago with Shingles. He has never (to our knowledge) had chickenpox…but the doctor told us he most likely had and we did not notice, ie (one or two pox). I found that odd, and I was also skeptical about accepting his diagnosis. So we went to another doctor for a second opinion. That doctor said the exact same thing.
I read above that someone mentioned a doctor advise them that those who get a light case of chicken pox are more likely to catch shingles and this makes total sense to me. Not only with my sons case, but with my own.
I got chickenpox as an adult (a very mild case of it) and then 2 years later a very mild case of shingles.
My son was not vaccinated against chicken pox and I was when I was young.
May 9, 2008 at 4:59 am |
Renz the same thing is happening to me with my 4 year old daughter. On April 25th she was diagnosed with Strept then just today she took her to the doctor because a rash appeared on her arm and the doctor told us that she has Shingles. I didnt understand how she can get Shingles when she never had Chicken pox before. She has been vaccinated against chicken pox. Her shingles seems to be mild its only on her arm and she has been a real good through the fact she has to be couped up for a while but im happy to know that we are not the only ones going through this. I felt like all the stuff i read she was some kind of leaper.
May 12, 2008 at 6:48 pm |
My daughter who is six, has just been diagnosed with Shingles. It started very mildly and we thought that it was the onset of dermatiatis as it was a pale dry 2-3cm roundish rash. It spread over the next 2 days but maintained it’s look. She then developed a fever and small watery spots emerged 2 days later. She has been prescribed an anti-viral medication and is itchy but not too sore luckily. I wonder how a small child can get this illness after everything I have read about a typical case ( ie older people). She has not been ill or stressed so I guess she was just unlucky???
May 14, 2008 at 8:34 pm |
My oldest son got a rash that appeared to us as poison ivy gone crazy when he was 8. We tried for a doctor’s appointment but couldn’t get seen for about 4 days. Since we thought it was poison we treated it as such and didn’t think there was any reason to go to urgent care or anything. The rash started on a Tuesday (although pain had started sooner) and by Monday (appt day) it was completely crusted over. The poor boy was in misery over the weekend.
He was diagnosed with shingles and prescribed the anti-viral meds and tylenol w/codeine and told to take regular tylenol too. We don’t do meds lightly and after research knew that it was essentially too late for the prescribed meds to help. He wasn’t in pain any longer, either. He has no sharp lingering pain, PTL, but he has a raised scar area that is very sensitive. Whenever someone “claps him on the shoulder” it causes him pain. No one knows that of course because his clothing covers it. He also doesn’t like to be uncovered even when swimming. Does anyone know of anything to do for the scarring?
I have found online that chickenpox before age 1 in a healthy child make the likelihood of shingles greater. He had relatively mild chickenpox when he was 9 months old. Our other children have not had shingles but had the chickenpox later (2 yrs–very mild, 4 yrs–mild case, 5 yrs–mild case). I wonder, too, about the actual chicken pox virus that causes the pox the first time. Our oldest, who had when she was 2, was before the vaccination was encouraged. The middle 2, when 4 yr old and 9-mo old, had at the same time in a case that was from the vaccination. The 5-yr old, our youngest, just had this past summer from who knows where. I wonder if the “vaccination pox” is mutated and more likely to cause shingles later?
May 15, 2008 at 11:40 pm |
My 14 year´s old son just got diagnosed with shingles. He was been treated with antibiotics for a long cold ann a cough he had. Affte he finishes the treatment the rash appears. I took him to a dermatologis and he tested positive for Shingles. I was also told that shingles is just common in adults! He had chicken pox when he was 6 years old. Never took the varicella vaccine but this is so strange. Could it be a reaction from another vaccine… hepatitis, meningitis,, etc? The rash appeared on the upper left arm and bottom. Also some appear in the back. He is taking the antiviral medication… I wonder if he would get it again?
May 19, 2008 at 6:56 am |
My 9 year old daughter just got diagnosed with Shingles yesterday. This was after 2 doctor visits and a hospital visit to get xrays of her left arm and shoulder. Hers started with severe pain in her left shoulder and left arm. The pain went on for 4 days before the rash started appearing yesterday. At that point a Dr did diagnos her with shingles and start the anti viral medication. The pain is easing and the rash is getting worse. I was very concerned even at this point that they had gotten the diagnosis correct because she has never had chicken pox but she did have the chicken pox vaccine. Most information I have found states you have to have had chicken pox in order to get Shingles. It has helped to see that others have gotten shingles without having chicken pox. As for the vaccine–for the amount of pain this little girl just experienced over a 5 day period I would have much rather her have had chicken pox with the itching and not the intese pain she has experienced with Shingles. To top it all off until the rash appeared no one could diagnos it to get her some relief. I wonder what information is out there for the medical community about Shingles in children and if there is research showing that this is increasing since the chicken pox virus has been being used.
May 23, 2008 at 6:00 am |
My son, who is four and will be five in July, woke up this morning complaining that his side hurt. As I was getting him dressed, I noticed raised bumps all along his underarm, below his underarm, and above his underarm. He also has a temp of 103.5 F. My son contracted chicken pox at the age of 6 months old, and it looked similar to red candy sprinkles all over his body. There was no pus or scabbing. Then he got his varicella shot at four. I asked the doctor why since he had already had chicken pox, and he told me that if I wanted my son to go to school, then I should get it for him. Now I have to go to the doctor’s offce and wait outside in the morning for a nurse to come outside and look at my son’s side. They have suggested that it is shingles, but my question is, if shingles is not contagious, then why do I have to wait outside the practice?
May 23, 2008 at 7:09 am |
My son broke out with his first set of shingles in April of 2006 at the age of 7. I “tried” to do research online but back then it was nearly impossible to find ANYTHING online about it. I just got home today from taking him to the Dr. AGAIN with another outbreak. The first time I took him, all the Drs. said that it was probably an isolated incident. He now gets them anually. It is extremely frusterating for a parent to not have any answers or knowledge of something that is hurting their child. He got his vaccine in 2004 & it lay dorment for 2yrs. Noone wants to take responsibility or try to educate the parents. My son gets his outbreak on his forehead right below the hairline. He IS scarred for life & it is pretty apparent that there will be future scars. I dont know what to do or even if anything can be done, but if there is a bandwagon to jump on, I would like to.
Families who have yet to have their precious children vaccinated for chickenpox should at least know the risks.
May 28, 2009 at 1:41 am |
I am 20 years old and I was diagnosed with my SIXTH case of Shingles since I was Nine. It makes NO sense.
May 23, 2008 at 7:11 pm |
Thank you for this information!
My son who is now 20 had a bad case of chicken pox at 4 yrs of age. At about age 10 he had a fever and a light rash around his waist in a complete circle. Our doctor diagnosed shingles. Interestingly he also commented that it was the 3rd case of shingles in a young child that he had seen that week. So I do think something contagious is happening as my son has always been incredibly healthy. He rarely even gets a cold.
May 25, 2008 at 4:45 am |
Why are our children with healthy immune systems getting shingles ????
I wish I knew the statistics on how many children since 1995 have devoloped shingles. My sons case, although it should have been, was NOT reported to the CDC by the Drs. Hence how is anyone going to be able to keep track of it.
If you read below, it says that shingles commonly occur in people above the age of 50 & most often with a compromised immune systems. It also says that only 4% have a repeated outbreak, well this is my 9yr. old sons 3rd outbreak. As horrible as it is that he has these outbreaks, can ANYONE tell me whether in 10yrs from now there wont be something different or more sever that he will have to deal with because of this. The answer is no !!!!!!!! It angers me when I read all the other posts & the Drs. are telling all of us parents that our children probably had such a mild case of the chickenpox that we must not have noticed. Well I think that myself as well as other parents pay pretty close attention to anything on our childrens body that shouldnt be there or has never been there. No matter how minute or small it may be. So, even if that is the case & we are not paying close enough attention, then WHY the dramatic incline of cases where young children are geting shingles in the last few years ???? You would think that back when we were children 20/30 yrs. ago parents wouldnt notice a small outbreak of chickenpox on their kids just as Drs. are suggesting today. Why back then were there not thousands of shingle cases involving children ???? Im sorry for rambling but I am angry that nothing is being done & Im bothered that the Varicella Vaccine is now required with so little information available.
Below is the most common info. you will get about shingles:
Who Is at Risk?
Anyone who has had chicken pox is at risk of developing shingles. More than 90% of Americans over age 15 have had chicken pox. Although young people can get shingles, this disease usually occurs in people over age 50. The frequency of shingles is basically constant between the ages of 20 and 50 years (2.5 cases per 1,000 people per year). The chances of getting shingles then doubles in people between ages 50 and 60 years, and then doubles again in people age 80 to 90 years.
An important factor, though, is the immune system, which helps keep viruses at bay. The varicella zoster virus can become active again because of a decrease in a person’s immunity to the virus. This decrease in immunity can occur with advanced age. However, sometimes it is not known why the virus becomes active again.
The following may cause the varicella zoster virus to become active and cause an outbreak of shingles:
Diseases that affect the immune system (eg, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and HIV)
Anticancer and immunosuppression drugs that suppress the immune system (eg, chemotherapy)
Temporary depression of the immune system from a cold or sunburn
Stress (due to negative life events)
Major depression
Shingles in Children
Children whose mothers developed chicken pox within 5 to 21 days before giving birth are susceptible to developing shingles. These babies are usually born with chicken pox or develop it within a few days of birth. One-third of these children develop shingles during the first 5 years of their life.
Can I Get Shingles Again?
Most people who get shingles develop immunity to the varicella zoster virus and will not get it again. Only about 4% of people will have another outbreak in the future. When shingles does recur, it is often in people with a compromised immune system (eg, they are infected with HIV or are undergoing chemotherapy treatments). A second outbreak of shingles may occur many years after the first outbreak. When shingles does recur, the rash usually does not appear in the same location as the first outbreak.
May 28, 2009 at 1:44 am |
“Most people who get shingles develop immunity to the varicella zoster virus and will not get it again. Only about 4% of people will have another outbreak in the future. When shingles does recur, it is often in people with a compromised immune system (eg, they are infected with HIV or are undergoing chemotherapy treatments). A second outbreak of shingles may occur many years after the first outbreak. When shingles does recur, the rash usually does not appear in the same location as the first outbreak.”
I have gotten Shingles 6 times in the same spot so thats crazy.
May 25, 2008 at 6:43 am |
Kayla,
EXACTLY. I was pretty upset as well. There was virtually no info to be found and what was found is incorrect!
I’m pretty sure that our cases were not reported to the CDC.
June 5, 2008 at 1:28 am |
My 4 yo is recovering from Strep throat (the worse case they have ever seen) and Scarlett fever, In the meantime he has come down with a really weird rash – the md diagnosed as Scabies at first but when i brought him back 24 hrs later – she states she doesnt know what it is – had two other mds come in a look and all are at a loss. I am freakin out – what is it? His temp was as high as 105 and he recently first a course of oral steriods due to asthma which could have weakened his immune system. I have been told it isnt shingles b/c it is on both sides of his body. Could it be shingles???
June 5, 2008 at 2:18 am |
yes,Tracy, I would not rule it out. Direct your dr. to this site if you wish, to read the testimonials.
June 14, 2008 at 8:33 am |
My 8 year-old son had chicken pox on his first birthday. It was a moderate case. His pediatrician told me he did not need the Varicella vaccine because he had the disease and I was grateful because I had concerns about the vaccine anyway. It was my belief that I, my mother, grandmother, great grandmother….. all had Chicken Pox and lived..How bad could it be! I didn’t want my baby to be a guinea pig, so I was happy he had Chicken Pox. When my second son was born, I refused the vaccine because no doctor could answer my questions. Here it is: If a child gets the vaccine, they can still get Chicken Pox (mild case). In the event that they don’t get that exposure and mild case of Chicken Pox, are they more susceptible to Shingles when finally exposed? Well, no one could answer and it is my opinion if you can’t answer the questions, don’t push the product! My husband and I have always stood by our decision and felt it was the right choice.
But today, my eight year old was diagnosed with Shingles. I can not figure this out. There are no documented Chicken Pox outbreaks in his school (It runs through the schools almost every year by the way) and he is not “stressed” as I have been told. I did start him on the anti-viral meds immediately because I am fearful of the neuro harm that Shingles could do to him. I agree that there might be some mutated version of the Chicken Pox, and I am angry and frustrated because I didn’t do the vaccine and it still got us. In reading the other replies, I am really scared that my son may get regular recurrences of this horrific disease, and so I am also doing nutritional therapies in order to rebuild his immune system.
So, I am posting our story in the event this gets investigated further. Good luck to all of you and I hope your children are well.
June 14, 2008 at 4:31 pm |
My daughter had a very mild case of chicken pox at 18 mos. old. When she was about 10, she developed a rash on her belly that looked a little like poison ivy. It didn’t give her much pain or itching, and it covered only a very small area (about 1 sq. inch) so I didn’t think much of it. About a month later, we visited the doc for her annual checkup and he noticed what remained of the rash and asked us about it. He said that he thought it was shingles. Our experience seems to match the information I have read: if the child has a mild case of chicken pox at a very young age, they are more likely to develop shingles. My two other children were vaccinated, and they have had no chicken pox or shingles to date. By the way, my daughter had a small scar on her belly for a while after the rash went away. It was more like a darkening of the skin at the site of the rash. The darkening remained for some time, but it eventually disappeared completely.
June 19, 2008 at 2:40 am |
My daughter’s story is similar to many of these cases! She is 4 years old and was just diagnosed with Shingles on Monday.
Last Wednesday, she complained of a pain in her right hand and thumb, but I couldn’t see anything – she screamed when I touched her hand. Thursday morning she complained about her thumb again, and then I could see a patch of redness and little blisters at the base of her thumb, plus more little bumps on her palm and a few on the back of her hand. My thought was hand-foot-mouth disease, so I took her to the doctor. She also cried horribly when I tried to raise her arm to look at the tiny red spots – about 5 spaced evenly up her right arm. This doctor thought the rash was poison ivy, and the pain was so severe when he felt her shoulder/collar bone, that he thought maybe her collarbone was cracked. An x-ray showed nothing wrong with the collarbone. The doctor prescribed oral steroids to keep the inflammation down on the blisters.
Those red patches grew steadily over the weekend. I thought the poison ivy was spreading from rubbing and scratching (even during her disturbed sleep, I saw her rubbing her hand against the blanket). We visited the doctor again on Monday to have the staples removed from her scalp (a different story from last weekend – my poor baby!). I asked what could I do about this poison ivy that keeps growing and still hurts! This doctor said he thought what she really has is Shingles!
By Wednesday, 1 week after she started complaining, the blisters stopped increasing and started to crust over. I wonder if it was the fall and bump to her head on the Saturday before that was the stress to cause this outbreak of shingles. My daughter had the Varicella vaccine at 12 months (this contains live chicken pox virus).
June 20, 2008 at 11:49 am |
So what do we do about it ???? How do we let other parents know now rather than after the fact ????
June 24, 2008 at 9:28 am |
I am just recovering from a mild case of shingles. My 2 year old son was just diagnosed today with shingles…probably caught them from me. He was vaccinated at 18 months. MY doctor told me that he should not contract the virus b/c he was vaccinated but his pediatrician told me today that is not the case (I’m going with his view b/c my son with shingles is the proof!) Anyway, I have a breastfeeding 2 month old here who I hope has my antibodies and is “safe” from both chicken pox & shingles but at this point I just don’t know! I had chicken pox at age 7 and I didn’t find it to be too bad. Maybe the vaccine isn’t needed after all if kids are just going to get shingles instead!
June 29, 2008 at 12:22 am |
When my daughter was 5 weeks old, my son, who was 4, deveoped the chicken pox. We were at my mom’s house for Christmas and I was very concerned for my daughter because I had never had the chickenpox. I was told that they could have given her a shot to keep her from getting the chicken pox so I called the Doctor’s office to see if this was true. I was told that there was a shot but did not want to give it to her because she was so young. They also told me that she would have my immunity and would not get the chicken pox. I told them that I had never had the chickenpox and they said that I probably had a light case and did not realize that I had it. Two weeks later, at 8 weeks old, my daughter broke out in chickenpox. She was covered and it lasted about a week.
When she was about 2 years old she woke up in the middle of the night crying and screaming in pain. She kept pointing to her stomach. I tried everything to help her and nothing worked. She would arch her back in pain as I was holding her and I could not help her. She finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Later on she awoke and seemed to be okay. I was going to get her bathed and dressed to go to daycare and when I removed her gown I was blown away. She was covered in a rash that completely covered one side of her torso. I took her immediately to the doctor. The doctor raised her shirt and put it down and said this poor baby. He told me that she had a severe case of shingles and that she had been in major pain. He also said the worst of it is over and he was correct she did not hurt anymore and the rash cleared and did not leave a scar.
When she was about 6, she got sick with a cold and we had to see another doctor that was on call. This doctor was really pushing the chickenpox vaccine. I told her that she had already had chickenpox and the shingles but she insisted that it would be a good idea to have her immunized so I did. Three days ago she came in to me and said that the back of her shoulder was hurting and it itched. I looked at it and it looked like two but bites with a rash up under it. That afternoon she had another spot develop on her wrist that looked just like the rash on her shoulder but smaller. I got worried what it might be so I took her to the doctor and once again she has shingles. I was told that she will probably break out with them many times in her life and she was prescribed Valtrex to take when she feels it coming on.
My daughter other than shingles is a very healthy child. She is a cheerleader, runs track, plays basketball and dances. Everything that I have read about shingles in children says that it affects kids with low immune systems!
July 4, 2008 at 12:13 pm |
My daughter got the vaccine in 1997 when she turned 1. They told me then that it was mandatory and only being 22 yrs. old I was young and naive! So we got the chicken pox vaccine even though I wasn’t very comfortable having her get it. Well lo and behold when she was 6 yrs old she got shingles. She was with her father for a week with this rash and pain and he and her stepmom played it off as a sore muscle. What 6 yr old kid do you know that gets sore muscles for a week? One with shingles!! When I got her back it was horrible! I took her straight to the dr. and it was diagnosed as shingles. The worst case a dr in our big city had ever seen in a child.
I now have 2 other children and expecting another one this fall. I have not vaccinated either one of my other children and do not plan to. When asked why I was refusing I stated that it is causing shingles in children. They give me the speil that they wont be allowed in school, or they can die if they get regular chicken pox or they will miss 2 weeks of school if they get it or the nice excuse… it doesnt cause shingles and they can get shingles if they get the regular chicken pox. They hand me the panphlet with the information about the vaccine and it was last updated in 1997. Seems a little outdated and people really have no idea what this vaccine can do. There is little the government regulations are doing in ways of research of the cases of shingles. I was just told tonight from a nurse friend that they have seen numerous cases of shingles in children in the last few weeks. I wonder why! These cases need to be looked into and the booster shot (which my daughter did not get either!) needs to be discontinued!!!!!!!
I feel for all the mothers that have had to deal with their children and shingles. It is no fun!
July 10, 2008 at 2:39 am |
My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with Shingles on the 4th of July, 2008. She spent the week with her cousin’s in IN and I picked her up from her father’s house on the 4th. She began to tell me about these little bumps she had on ONE side of her head. I immediately thought it must be bug bites or even something from the lake. When she added that she would get like an “electric shock” pulsating up one side of her head, I knew it was more than bug bites.
I took her straight to an emergent care center run by ER doctors. They were wonderful and immediately diagnosed her with shingles. She is a very healthy NORMAL 12 year old girl. Possibly triggered by stress due to her father re marrying recently, and just life of a 12 year old girl. Coincidence or not? Her aunt’s mother (where she stayed in IN) was also diagnosed while my daughter was visiting them with shingles! What do you all think of that? She ALSO had a very, very mild case of the chicken pox when she was 9 months old.
I, too, thought we were alone in this. Everyone I tell this to, says they’ve never heard of a child getting shingles, and with all the reading I’ve done since the diagnosis I have never even read, of a case with shingles on one side of the head???? Anyone else out there with this? She was put on an anti viral med and also given tylenol w/codein. My poor girl is in a lot of pain and it kills me to see her this way.
Thanks for this BLOG is has helped me a great deal.
July 10, 2008 at 10:18 pm |
Two of my five children have had shingles. Of interest is that I am a missionary surgeon who works in the Amazon region of Brazil where the varicella vaccine is not used and I hav seen varicella in children a number of times. At first I thought the children were malnourished or immunosuppressed for some reason until two of my apparently healthy children came down with them. Neigher of them had the vaccine. One of my children did have the vaccine and has not developed varicella. There are questions, but I would not be quick to implicate the varicella vaccine.
July 11, 2008 at 9:35 pm |
Our story is the same as so many here.
My daughter was vaccinated, had a light case of chickenpox almost two years ago….I was angry at the school system for their policy of NOT informing families of an outbreak, needing to get those tax dollars for bums in the seat. Anyway, when she was diagnosed, I was told that our age group was at a higher risk beacuse apparently there had been a “bad batch” of vaccine in our area (South Texas) in the vital years (2002-2004).
Two days ago she started complaining of chest aches..nothing visible, then last night I picked her up when she feel asleep on the couch and I noticed a rash around her left side, sternum to spine. After researching today, I am convinced it is Shingles. I have been worried ever since the “slight” case of Chickenpox so I am a little sensitive, I realize.
We have a Dr’s appointment at 10:30. My concern is that he will be in the “children don’t get shingles” camp and misdiagnose.
So glad I found this site for support and confirmation, if nothing else.
July 14, 2008 at 4:41 am |
Hello again…..like I said in my previous posts, my 10yr old son seems to be getting shingles anually. His is on the hairline on his forhead (everytime). He has broke out 3 times thus far but as far as im concerned, its 3 times to many. The one thing that I find different from most of the other cases on here is that my son has little to no pain with his outbreaks. He gets irritible & doesnt feel well but it doesnt seem that there is to much pain at the sight. I have noticed that the last 2 times he broke out, was close after having a buzz haircut. I dont know if this possibly irritates the area, or if it could be the exposure to the sun, or just simply a coinsedence. I also have figured out that getting him treated ASAP when I first notice the blisters seems to make the outbreak shorter. The 1st time he broke out, they lasted a good 3weeks but now I take him in right away & get the anti-viral meds & the topical & they heal in a good 4 to 5 days. I am completely CONVINCED that he got this from the Varicella Vaccine, there is NO doubt in my mind !!!!!!!! That is the explanation I get when the DRS. tell me that typically shingles are extremely painful. It is more than likely a mutated strain (man-made) of course. I have also heard from some DRS. that there were “bad batches” uumm hello, I dont want my kids to be associated with anything with the word “BAD” in it. The more I think about my poor baby & read these posts, I just get ANGRY !!!!!!!! Whether it IS the vaccine or not, something is going on that has not been going on up until the last 10 or so years & it seems to be getting more & more common.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble AGAIN
July 16, 2008 at 10:45 am |
We just visited the pedi today, and my 3-year-old has shingles. She said she’s seen a rise in it and wonders if it’s related to the vaccine. Very interesting!
July 16, 2008 at 10:48 am |
I just read Kayla’s comments …
My son doesn’t complain of any pain either, even when I put Altabax on the sores. (My pedi recommended it so none of the open sores become infected.)
I’m so thankful he doesn’t seem to be in pain. I understand that the pain develops – and increases – the older you are. I hope he doesn’t have a lifetime of shingles ahead of him.
July 16, 2008 at 2:13 pm |
My grandson (23 months old) was just diagosed with shingles. We were totally surprised that a child so young could/would get this very painful medical condition.
As far as we know – he never had chickenpox or was even exposed to it. At first it appeared as though he had a couple of mosquito bites on his side. He would scratch them and then say it was “owee”. The next day the spot grew to several spots that looked like blisters. At the appointment with the pediatrician, I asked if he was contagious and if we needed to keep him out of his daycare. I was told that it would be fine though since he had more than likely exposed all the kids to possibly getting chickenpox anyway. It was suggested to keep the spots covered with a band-aid if he continued to scratch the area. But thankfully he isn’t itching anymore, probably due to it being such an “owee” to him.
After reading the other posts, I am wondering if the chickenpox vaccine could be the reason why we are seeing so many children getting shingles at such a young age. I really question if there was enough research done on the vaccine such as the longterm affects.
July 25, 2008 at 5:48 am |
I just had my 9yr old daughter into the doctor with what I suspected was shingles. The admin nurse told me there was no way it could be shingles because children didn’t get shingles.
Her rash is around the left side of the torso and is very painful.
The doctor did indeed confirm that it was shingles. If I knew then what I know now I wouldn’t have taken let them give her that chicken pox vaccine. Did more harm than good in my opinion.
KIDS SHOULD NOT BE GETTING SHINGLES.
When I was little my mother had me play with a neighbor kid who HAD chicken pox, just to make sure I was exposed to it as a child. Excellent advise.
August 11, 2008 at 8:58 am |
Our fourth son, Jacob, got a case of 11th cranial nerve shingles with a blistery rash on the side of the nape of his neck to the shoulder at the tender age of 18 months. His older brother age three had come down with a severe case of chicken pox 6 months earlier. Jacob who was exposed to his brother’s varicella had practically no rash at all except for one blister on his buttocks which we only remembered after the fact. Jacob had no fever and seemed to have no pain from his shingles infection and rash. He was examined at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, by many interns, residents, attending physicians, and medical students (in the latter part of 1984). His rash was cultured for bacteria and viruses and the diagnosis of Shingles (Herpes zoster) was confirmed at the beginning of 1985 He was the youngest case at that time, on record, in Sweden and as far as I know, the youngest documented case still today. He needed no treatment and his own immune system took care of the infection.
William Ferman M.D. Bremerton, Wash
August 16, 2008 at 10:14 am |
I feel so sick about the whole thing. My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with shingles about a week ago. She had the chicken pox when she was 3 months old. I thought maybe because she also gets cold sores quite frequently, that the shingles could be related. Hopefully it not a life long thing. She has had itching but no pain yet. I pray this is as bad as it gets. I have three other children, two of which have only had one varicella shot. Will something bad happen if I don’t get their second dose? I am so worried…I’m just trying not to panic, but what are we supposed to do? Good luck and God bless all of you and your children.
August 17, 2008 at 3:54 am |
My 2 year old was just diagnosed with Shingles today. Ironically, we were at the Pediatricins office on Wednesday of this past week for a well- check. I showed the doctor the concerning blister-like clusters that were starting to form on his right arm. There were only 2 sites on his right arm on Wednesday. Since that day, its spread all down the front and back of his arm and now on the palm of his hand and fingers. He is not complaining at all.
I am a nurse, and had to almost harrass the office to see us today, because I thought it was Shingles, eventhough rare in children.
I have been doing a lot f research today. It sounds like eventhough children get the chickenpox vaccination, they are still suceptiple of getting Shingles. I agree, I would rather have my child get a mild case of Chickenpox, than to have to go through Shingles.
He is actually acting very normal at this point. I hope it stays that way!
August 18, 2008 at 9:14 pm |
My 10 year old daughter had the Varicella vaccine in 2000. I did not want her to recieve the vaccine and her doctor was unhappy about the fact that it had become a “required” immunization. Basically, without it, my child could not go to school.
Since recieving the vaccine 8 years ago she has had Shingles three times. Always in the same area, the right side of her forehead, which have left scars that do fade but are still visible.
My daughter did not have chickenpox nor shingles before being given the vaccine.
She has always been in excellant health so I am not buying the weak immune system excuse.
My advice to all new parents; really question your doctor before letting your child get this vaccine.
I am convinced that it is the cause of my daughters Shingles outbreaks. As a result, my beautiful little girl has to deal with awful soars on her face that do scar.
August 19, 2008 at 6:06 pm |
In July of 2007 my 4 yr old son woke up one morning with a awollen left eye. As I examined it I noticed tiny bumps. I took him to the doctor and they could not figure it out. They gave him oral antibotics and referred us to an opthalmalogist. He gave us erythromycin eye drops, which made the infection worse. He then referred us to an dermatologist. She said it was herpes zoster. So after serveral doctors appts and prescriptions we fought this infection for a month. I wasn’t thinking it was shingles. I thought that he had gotten the chicken pox even though he had gotten vaccinated. Well on August 8 of this year, mind you this was to be his very first day of school, he woke up with the swollen left eye which began to blister. He did not complain the day before nor were there any signs. Luckily we had medication left from last year. We called the pharmacy to see if it was still ok to take til we could see the doctor. Acyclovir and Levaquin eye drops are the meds we are currently are using. The doctor told us that it is shingles. I was in shock, still am. Really, my son has shingles. Is this something he is going to have to deal with the rest of his life? Plus, with shingles traveling along nerve endings, my son is at high risk of potentially going blind? He tends to have a small rash on the back of his arms. It is the color of his natural skin tone but it became red during his outbreak. What really shocked me is that occurred almost exactly a year later. Is there something else I need to do to help prevent this from happening again? Thanks for the support page. It is very informative.
August 26, 2008 at 7:24 am |
My 21 month old daughter developed shingles on 8/6/08 – 3 months after receiving her Varicella vaccination. She never had chicken pox. We are almost at the 3 week mark. Her rash is really gone – just some red marks left. However, she is still experiencing the shooting pain the rash started with – it actually seems to be a little worse.
She is relatively ok during the day, but at night it really gets to her and keeps her up. We are treating with motrin which dims it enough for her to sleep, but she wakes up the minute it wears off. I have watched her little foot on the leg where she had the rash start to twitch and kick until she wakes up and cries out in pain. I am setting my alarm clock to get up and give her another dose of Motrin before the other one fully wears off.
I have also found that using caladryl clearwith the anti-itch stuff, the aveeno cream with anti-itch stuff or the neosporin with pain relief seem to help with the pain. I am not sure why, I just know that even now that the rash has healed, she sleeps better when I use the cream and wakes up more when I do not put it on. That seems strange to me. Also, if she is having pain, it seems to help if I just “press” on the area where the rash used to be. She seems to calm some if I do that. Again – I do not know why, just thought I would pass that on.
I used pajamas with feet on her to keep her from scratching. The oatmeal baths from aveeno seemed to help dry the rash and keep it clean. We did not have trouble with infection and the rash took 2 weeks to clear. It stayed pretty local on her lower back, waist, right hip and leg down to her knee.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for the neuralgia? I know I am very fortunate her case was not too serious, but I really hate to see her in pain. Plus, we could really use some sleep some time soon!
Thank you so much for this post / thread. There is very little information out on this topic. I would advise everyone to go to this site: http://vaers.hhs.gov/ to report the adverse effect of the varicella vaccination if you believe your childs’ shingles were a result of the vaccine. We really need to get these cases on record.
Thanks again!
August 30, 2008 at 4:16 am |
I was ten when I first had the singles, and my shoulder area is completely scared…I was sick for months…and the smell of the dying skin was horrific…i spent my whole summer in bed, and if a small piece of hair touched my shoulder i cried…i was born in 1966 so when i had the shingles no one had any idea of what was going on…now, today…i think i am having another attack…just recently divorced, bought first house at 42….i have so many scars from the singles, and constant pain from them…it is freaky
September 13, 2008 at 7:44 am |
Today my 9 yr old son was diagnoised with shingles. He has a small patch on his lower back. It’s around his t11 area of his spine. He along with his twin sister had a average case of chicken pox at age 6th months. He has a normal immune system. His twin so far has not had an outbreak of shingles. My ped had no hesitation when he saw the rash. He immediatly knew it was shingles. We went home with a antiviral perscription. He doesn’t complain of pain to much or itching. I’m praying that it doesn’t spread around his waist. Thank you for this site. It was comforting to read and to know my family is not alone. I pray all of your children with shingles will be healed.
September 17, 2008 at 1:45 pm |
Our daughter is a hearty, healthy 10 and never had chicken pox that we know of. She had the vaccine. She is in her third day of intense pain from what her doctor calls shingles. I had it when I was 30 across my back, knocked me out for about 4 days-that was well before she was ever born. It is on her upper right arm. Discomort for a couple of days, pain for a couple more, then the rash setting in with major pain. On the third day of the rash, it covers a good portion of her upper arm, is red, and comes with intense pain which runs from the base of her neck to her elbow as does the rash. If she can stay immobile it helps. Any movement and she describes a burning feeling and a cramping feeling. Poor dear is miserable with pain. I pray for you and thanks for sharing.
September 29, 2008 at 11:48 pm |
My daughter 11, just had a case of the shingles two weeks ago on her left side. She couldn’t wear jeans for more than a week and had a lot of trouble sleeping. As far as I was aware my daughter had not had the chicken pox before. I sprayed her daily with Dermaplast, gave her baths daily and in three days they dried up and the pain went away. She still has one big scab and some redish splotches. Now, my son, 9, woke up with the chicken pox. Neither have been vaccinated. Many people had said she didn’t have shingles because of her age and that she hadn’t had chicken pox.
September 30, 2008 at 12:06 am |
I forgot to say in my previous post that I am wondering what the possiblities of my daughter getting the shingles from her nephew that had just been given the chicken pox vaccine?
Why can’t they leave the vaccines for the diseases that are more serious? I think we are a society playing russian roulette with our children’s health. No one really knows the long term effects of vaccines. Millions of children are essentially guinea pigs! Not mine.
October 18, 2008 at 12:31 am |
Yesterday my 15 year old son was diagnosed with Shingles. He’s a healthy Type 1 diabetic.
When he was four he had a normal case of Chicken Pox. When he was 6 he had a second, mild case of Chicken Pox. (Both cases were diagnosed by doctors. The second doctor ran tests to check that my son’s immune system was healthy. All tests were normal.)
In two weeks, the doctors will run more tests on my son’s immune system, but they’re saying that this happened because he’s a diabetic, thus immunocompromised.
From what I’m reading here, his immune system could be just fine and he could still get Shingles.
I’ve spoken with the school nurse and asked her to keep an eye on the situation to see if other kids develop shingles or Chicken Pox over the next few weeks.
Here’s an interesting article linking the CP vaccine with Shingles outbreaks, even in unvaccinated children.
http://www.vran.org/vaccines/cpox/shingles-threat.htm
October 18, 2008 at 3:29 am |
I am 20 years old and have had “shingles” five times. It started when i was 16 after I had spinal fusion surgery. The first rash showed up on my right collar bone. every year since then, the shingles have come out around this time of year (late October). Every time, it has been in the same spot, except for one occasion when I had it on the left small of my back. I don’t get severe pain, just moderate. I get very severe itching though. If I don’t scratch it, it goes away in a few days usually.
I have it again right now.
I’ve heard that a jolt to the spine can cause the shingles to resurface, or if your immune system is low.
I know this isn’t a question message board, but I’m just wondering is it really shingles like the doctor said? or is there something terrible wrong or weird about me? Anyone have similar symptoms?
October 21, 2008 at 8:30 am |
My two children and myself have had shingles. My daugher was 12 with shingles and had chicken pox at 8 years old. My son had shingles at 5, and we are unsure if he actually had chicken pox. I was 32 weeks pregnant with him when I contracted chicken pox from my daugher. They say that he could of had them in utero. Although, they still have him the chicken pox shot to be able to enter kindergarden. He developed shingles shortly after the shot.
October 26, 2008 at 9:07 am |
My 4 year old Daughter was diagnosed with Shingles today. It started out with a weird red rash on the back of her neck, later that day there was all kinds of little blisters in this rash. The next day she woke up, the rash had spread to her left arm also covered in clumps of blisters.
This to me is very odd. I had shingles ten years ago when I was 19 years old, and doctors all thought it was weird because I was so young. So you could imagine how stunned I was to hear that my 4 year old Daughter had this virus, only she doesn’t feel any burning sensations or pain.
They gave me medicine and told me if the rash continued after 24hrs I was too take my Daughter to Sick Children’s Hospital for intervene.
(My Daughter DID NOT receive the chicken pox vaccine.)
The info on this site is very helpful, thank-you!
October 27, 2008 at 11:00 pm |
Hi,
Thanks for you info. My 13 year old has shingles. All my children had chicken-pox the old fashioned way – no vaccine involved. My daughter, however was under the age of 1 (6 weeks old) when she had chicken-pox. And that, is apparently a risk factor for getting shingles in children.
I do agree that vaccinating all children may lead to repurcussions that may only now be appearing. One was mentioned on another web-site that I found very interesting. Apparently, if children get chicken-pox, then the adults around them also get a boost in their immunity against shingles. If fewer children get chicken-pox, then this will change and we may see many more cases of shingles in the elderly…not something I would want…
October 29, 2008 at 4:04 am |
My 7 year old daughter was just diagnosed with shingles. The doctor ( recognizing she was adopted) stated she must have had chicken pox before you got her. My reply “we adopted her at 3 months old”. looking over Chloe’s shot record, she then saw that she had received the chickenpox vacc at 13 months.
Her last statement was this is a ” reportable case”. When I asked her to explain. She stated that some times children who
have been vaccinated with the CP shot, get shingles. Then she asked why Chloe had not gotten the booster? I’m now wishing she had never gotten the first shot. My older son had chickenpox and if I had to decided if my child would get one or the other, I’d choose chickenpox HANDS DOWN. To ease her pain & dry up the shingles, we opted to not give her the drugs and go a more natural route. We are adding a solution of Solumel & tea tree oil to her baths.
November 5, 2008 at 11:45 am |
My 5 yr old daughter came down with shingles this past weekend. She had one vaccination in ‘04, which caused a very light case of chicken pox. The shingles rash started on her back, under her arm and has wrapped around to her chest. I’m furious that I didn’t listen to my instincts and say no to the vaccine. I’m also furious that Doctors won’t admit that it’s even possible that one caused the other, and that they don’t disclose all of the risk factors. We’ve recently changed doctors, but I still see a pattern no matter where I go. I’m terrified that my little girl will have nerve pain after this illness as well as continue to get it in the future. The anti-viral meds don’t seem to be working either. I wish there were answers I can count on, but it won’t come from the medical community. They care about one thing and it’s not our children. If we want answers, we have to do the research ourselves.
November 6, 2008 at 11:04 pm |
About a week ago my 3 year old was crying of pain in her foot. Three days later, blister like clusters on one foot. I brought her to the Urgent care and was told it was either planters warts or a reaction from a bug bite. My daughter is allergic to mosquitoes and this was very different than her normal outbreak after a bite. I was told to continue what I was doing and follow up with PCP in a few days if it didnt improve. Went to PCP and was told, although rare she had shingles. She mainly has it on on foot (bototm of foot) and a few blisters on both feet (top). That it thus far, however she is in terrible pain. What controls it is continuosly giving her benedryl and tylenol and baccatracine with pain reliever on the clusters. I have to stay ahead of the pain or it wake her up in her sleep. I was told this will only last anothe rt wo weeks or so, I am hoping…………….But from what I am reading this could last a lot longer. Thank you for your stories.
November 7, 2008 at 1:27 am |
I am so mad. I chose to not finish my daughters immunizations because of the research I did. Her dad did not agree so when she was two and a half I decided to take her and catch her up. They gave her the chickenpox vaccine. Three weeks later she broke out on one side of her body. The doctor said it was either chickenpox or shingles, it has been a month and she still has shingles. I believe she got them from the shots, either her system was stressed from all four shots and broke out but this is not what I would have choose. She is in so much pain. I dont know how long this will last but I would already so much of rathered her got the chickenpox all over and be done with it. I reccomend that anyone questioning the shot should NOT do it. This particular one anyway!
November 8, 2008 at 8:22 am |
I’m literally in tears reading all of these responses. My 9 yr. old daughter was diagnosed with shingles today. She complained of pain in her left thigh Monday evening after dance. I wrote it off as a pulled muscle. It got so bad that she was crying, but I still couldn’t see anything wrong with her. This morning, she showed me what she thought was a “weird” rash on her leg. I knew instantly what it was. I suffered through a horrible case of shingles when I was pregnant with my 3rd child. The dr. confirmed what I thought and started her on meds today.
I’m furious that these reports aren’t being made more public. 4 of my 6 children have had the chicken pox vaccine. I have questioned it each time because I really felt in my gut that it would be better for them to have chicken pox than the vaccine. Needless to say, I’m standing my ground and we’re done with vaccines for all of our children.
November 14, 2008 at 7:56 am |
My 14 month old son woke up this morning and had a rash on his face. I thought it must have been from something he ate and was allergic to. We took him to the doctors to find out it was shingles! How in the world is this possible? He has never even had the chicken pox. He did however have the vaccine two months ago. I am starting to think that there is some link with the vaccine and outbreaks. I am concerned because I have not seen any children as young as mine that were diagnosed with shingles.
November 14, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
Hello there, what a relief to find this site! My 7 year old son was diagnosed with shingles today. He had chickenpox about 3 years ago and was never vaccinated against it. He hasn’t been himself lately, for the past 10 days he has been poorly, crying a lot and saying he feels tired and stressed. It has been a long and busy year for us and I assumed he is tired and needs a holiday which we have planned for in 3 weeks time. I noticed a few ‘bites’ on his torso 4 days ago. Yesterday they started blistering and I noticed that they had spread to his back, not crossing over his spine. My husband had shingles a few years ago and I recognised the symptoms. I took him to a dermatologist who confirmed that it is shingles and then went to our homeopath who has precscribed a remedy to help him. So far he doesn’t seem to have any pain. I would like to hear from parents who have opted for homeopathic treatment of shingles and how successful it was. I am also wondering why he has developed shingles, he has been healthy this year, hasn’t missed a day of school, he is a happy little soul, very creative and seems to be having a good time. I have always heard that shingles occurs when one is severely stressed and when one’s immune system is low. Thanks I would appreciate some feed back.
November 19, 2008 at 1:20 am |
My 6 yr old was just diagnosed with a mild case of shingles. She was 4 when she had mild chicken pox. She was completing the second round of antibiotics for strep throat after the first was ineffective. She complained of her stomach hurting from time to time and also a spot hurt to the touch but I just assumed it was due to the antibiotic. My husband and I finally put 2 and 2 together when the rash appeared and then became blistery. The Dr did not feel it necessary to put her on any medicine but did do a complete blood count which came back normal.
November 29, 2008 at 11:40 pm |
My 14 year old daughter was given a diagnosis of sinus infection due to ear and face pain this past Tuesday. Three days later she was given a second diagnosis of shingles due to increased pain in her face and a blistering rash coming across one side of her face. I immediately realized I must research this strange disorder. I thought back to her getting the chicken-pox at 2 when I took her to play with her cousin who had them. Yes, that was what I was taught to do. I DID not give her the chicken-pox vaccine. Now 12 years later I read your blog and realized that may not have helped her in getting the shingles at such a young age. I personally think that her chicken-pox virus may not have been severe enough to build an immunity to the herpes zoster she is now enduring at 14 years old. Anyway, thanks for your blog!
November 30, 2008 at 12:15 am |
I am still amazed at all the responses and how Shingles has affected so many. A crazy thought just entered into my head and I wanted to share: My two children ages 2 years and 13 got the chicken-pox vaccine on 10-7-08. Now like I concluded above my 14 year old daughter has gotten shingles 11-25-08. I wonder if since the chicken-pox vaccine is a live virus this has led my daughter to getting shingles from her sisters having the virus through the vaccine. I did hear that the incubation period is 2 to 3 weeks for the herpes zoster to manifest but who knows exactly since all the tampering with vaccines and immunity.
In answering the comment about shingles coming on for severe stress or low immunity I don’t think this reasoning applies to everyone. My daughter also has endured more stress at other times of her life and been sicker than with just a cold and did NOT get shingles then. I think the body just decided to have the hidden virus appear in seemingly healthy children or people. I would compare this to how some have the virus that carries warts in their body and these things just come to the surface when the body decides for some unknown reason.
Already with the prednisone and antivirals today she is feeling better and the rash seems to be not growing as fast. It is dangerously close to her eye but her cornea has been checked and so far so good. I am also giving her olive leaf, vitamin C and L-lysine for building an immunity and possibly trying to suppress the virus. I figured we will go natural in prevention and medical for her current breakout. I am also grateful she is not in much pain and that over the counter pain relievers help for now.
Well, one thing I do know for sure: shingles are an terrible thing to endure at any age and it really makes you happy that soon all these horrible diseases and sicknesses will be a thing of the past as mentioned in Isaiah 33:24.
December 12, 2008 at 4:34 am |
my 5 year old daughter had chicken pox this time last year and suddenly has a cluster of red spots on her right shoulder, 2 on her same shoulder blade and 5 under the same arm pit. she has had no pain at all, but a bit of itching. No blisterss appeared but they are drying up, the doctor says it could be suspected shingles or an allergic reaction to some food.
can anyone advise me if all shingles do blister ???? is it a mild dose???
December 15, 2008 at 3:55 am |
I just want to say thank you to all who have left their stories here. It is sad to hear but also good to know we are not alone. It appears that there are trends but also those that go against the grain.
My son is 10 and had a really horrible case of chicken box when he was 18 months old. He has very sensitive skin and gets rashes from detergent, metal, creams, etc. so when this rash on his belly showed up we didn’t think too much of it. Well 4 days later he pointed out to us that it wasn’t clearing up and actually was starting to puff up and blister. We went in to the dr. and were told it was shingles and they said it was really odd cause kids hardly ever get it. They began to question what might be stressing him and what is going on in his life. We don’t know why it showed up and he is a pretty healthy kid. I believe it is too late to start meds for him but besides being itchy and having a bit of tenderness he seems OK. Guess we will just wait for it to clear up at this point.
December 20, 2008 at 3:44 am |
My 7 y.o. daughter had a shingles oubreak last week. She never had chicken pox and as far as I know her immune system is fine. But of course, she was vaccinated for chicken pox as a baby. My only logical conclusion – there must be a connection between the chicken pox vaccine and shingles. Our pediatrician says these things are unrelated. How else did she get it???
December 21, 2008 at 12:36 pm |
Wow this website has been incredibly informative! Thank you to everyone who have shared their stories. I have been searching the web for answers myself as just last week my 8 MONTH OLD! darling baby girl was diagnosed with Shingles. I feel so terrible for her. She seems to be coping fairly well although that is her nature. At about 6 weeks old she caught a very mild case of chicken pox (about 6 spots) and a very nasty chesty cough from her 2 1/2 year old brother. This winter (Nthn Hemisphere’s Summer) she has really struggled to shake the cough as just when you think she is over it – back it comes, along with the usual snotty nose and sleepless nights. I am wondering if her poor immunity from all these colds has enabled shingles to take over. I am struggling with this diagnosis as I haven’t heard (nor has my Dr) of someone so young with it. Should I be worried that something worse is underlying or still to come? Any more thoughts are welcomed and truely appreciated.
December 21, 2008 at 12:44 pm |
Further to my above response, NZ doesn’t currently vaccinate for Chicken Pox, so my children were never vaccinated. I believe this to be a good thing judging by all the responses from everyone here, however it still didn’t save our wee girl from this dreaded virus! The other point I would like to add is my girl did come in contact with 2 adults who have had the virus, I am also wondering is this contributed. Ah, questions without answers – how frustrating!!!
December 24, 2008 at 7:30 am |
Thank you all for sharing your stories. Like so many of you, I have been feverishly surfing the internet looking for information. My 11 year old son was just diagnosed with shingles. He did not have the vaccine, but did have chicken pox when he was 2 years old. My daughter (who is younger) on the other hand DID have the vaccine, much to my dismay. I had no intentions of ever giving her the vaccine, but she was not going to be allowed to continue in school unless we had her immunized!! I remember feeling nauseous the day she had her vaccine…wishing I didn’t have to do it, fighting with the school all the way down to the last moments!! She has never (yet) had shingles…but now her brother has it.
My husband grew up in Vietnam and said they had used Tumeric to prevent scarring for chicken pox and shingles. Tumeric has many, many fabulous medicinal benefits…including being a great anti-oxidant. According to my husband, you should buy fresh tumeric (found in an Asian or Indian grocery store and it looks a bit like ginger root) You’ll need to ‘grind’ it on a hard surface (in Vietnam he said they would grind it on the bottom of a clay vase upside down) until it breaks up into almost a powder. You will need to add just a bit of water to make it a bit liquidy, but not too much. You can use a cotton swab to dab it onto the skin. He said it works very well to prevent scarring…and will help dry the area out too.
I’m going to be giving this a try for my son too!
My main concern is long term complications. I wish there was long-term information about children who have shingles and how it impact them throughout their lives. I guess our children will be the ones to help lend information for future generations.
Take care everyone…and thanks again for all the stories!
January 12, 2009 at 11:49 pm |
My son had shingles a year and a half ago when he was 9. We chose to not vaccinate him (our pediatrician was very supportive) and he had the chicken pox at age three–covered head to toe! Then at 9 he had a moderate to severe case of shingles with blisters around the right side of his waist. He was in such pain for the day before the rash appeared and we had no idea what was going on. As soon as the blistered popped up we knew what it was and took him to our doctor. He explained that childern were not being exposed repeatedly to chicken pox and were therefore now at greater risk than any generation for shingles.
My son received Acyclovir and a prednisone dose pack within 12 hours of the first blister. He was given pain meds and something for the itching. The meds worked very well and I feel our doctor was amazingly educated and up to date on the appropriate treatments (especially for a country doctor in Georgia!). Because of his care, I feel we avoided excessive pain and complications. The doctor said that the number of cases in children wasincreasing in our area as well as nation wide and we could only expect it to increase.
We were instructed to bring him in at the first sign of recurrence, even if he is only feeling tingles that remind him of shingles pain. Our wonderful doctor is determined to treat him as early as possible if there is another breakout. So far we have been blessed to have no further problems.
I pray that everyone has a physician that is so informed and caring.
January 15, 2009 at 2:29 am |
My son was given the varicella vaccine around 15 months. Around 27 months (four months ago), he developed a rash around his eye that developed from a scratch near his tear duct, close to his nose.
I took him to his pediatrician for what I thought, at first, was pink eye. His eyelids were swollen and red, and the white of his eye was red, too. I took him to the doctor twice only to get the same diagnosis: pink eye caused by bacterial infection. But when he developed a rash that looked like shingles, I placed a call to the doctor. The doctor reacted rather non-chalantly with: “…Oh! I bet it’s herpes!” But he never said which kind.
He prescribed aciclovir, as well as an antibiotic and topical erythromycin. During the follow-up visit, I asked how he caught it and why it affected his eye. He was very, very vague except to say that it was in the air (1. respiratory like the chicken pox), and that it would never come back again (2. odds given to most diagnosed with shingles).
Unsatisfied with his diagnosis, I took my son to two specialists: one pediatric opthamologist and an opthamologist that specialized in diseases of the eye. The pediatric opthamologist told me it was Herpes Simplex of the eye, and the recurrence rate is, of course, unknown. The opthamologist that specializes in diseases of the eye was vague, too; however, he was able to give me “numbers.”
He said that there was a 1 in 50 chance that it would recur. Those odds are compatible with recurrence of shingles.
To me, and everyone else who saw my son, the rash looked like shingles.
Recently, my son caught pink eye. I was, of course, concerned that it was a recurrence of HSV-1 based on what the pediatric opthamologist diagnosed. This time it was just “regular” pink eye, and I asked his pediatrician if what he caught last time was shingles. He hesitated before he answered, but managed to say: “He’s too young for shingles.”
I am still not sure what my son really had. I’m concerned, and I worry about it all the time. Fortunately, the rash he got four months ago had not attacked the actual eye. My only hope is that if it is HSV-1, it recurs in around the lid and does no damage to his vision. However, I am hanging on the hope that it was shingles and it really will never return.
I am amazed by the way those in the medical profession dodge the question, which is one I asked, also: Can this be a result of his chicken pox vaccine? Or, could what he had been chicken pox even though he was vaccinated? Ironically, I’m given a look as if I’m contagious when I ask…
January 20, 2009 at 3:47 am |
Wow, what a lot of interesting stories! I wish I knew what this is all about and how I could PREVENT IT COMING BACK. I am particularly worried about SCARRING too (will try turmeric – but if anyone else has good ideas please let us all know).
My daughter contacted shingles aged 4 and it has just come back only 3 months later. I would love to know why and I’d love to know how to stop it happening again and again?
She, like many of the other children mentioned above, had a very very mild case of chickenpox aged 9 weeks and she did not have any kind of chickenpox vaccination. She has been tired and run down as she has just started primary school and she is plainly exhausted by it.
I would really like to know if there is a way to prevent the shingles recurring? Does anyone have any information on prevention? I’m worried it is going to plague her for the rest of her life and I am very worried about the scars.
January 20, 2009 at 4:43 am |
ps. what about the anti-virals? are they a good thing? my instinct is to just let my daughter rest rather than drag her off to a doctor’s surgery so we can be given meds that may or may not be a help. What do you think?
February 2, 2009 at 5:29 am |
Dear Parents,
I have been given some very useful advice from a paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London. If you’re child suffers from shingles it is usually because he/she did not get exposed to a big enough dose of chickenpox – either because he/she was under 1 year and therefore suffered a mild case of it or because of being given the vaccine which tends to be just a small does too.
In the UK we do not have the vaccine for this exact reason! If the child is not exposed to enough of the virus the child will not build up enough resistance and therefore will fall prey to recurring bouts of the virus in the form of shingles.
In order to help children who suffer from shingles, it is suggested they are exposed to other children with chickenpox as often as possible so that your child can build up the necessary antibodies. This will prevent further outbreaks throughout your child’s life.
I am certainly going to give this a go with my 5 year old daughter who has already suffered 2 bouts of shingles. Good luck to everyone else!
February 4, 2009 at 10:10 am |
My 2 year old daughter was just diagnoised with a mild case of shingles. She received the chicken pox vaccine at 1 yr, as well as the booster. She has no other syptoms other than the rash, which is around her chest, armpit & back. Her pediatrican believes this outbreak is tied to the vaccine. Everyone I talk to has never heard of someone that young getting shingles.
My 7 year old received the chicken pox vaccine, suffered a mild case of chicken pox, then received the booster.
February 17, 2009 at 12:52 pm |
I am touched that so many have chosen to share their stories on this site. Our family has also been affected by shingles and I would like to share our story in the event anyone else who reads these postings has a similar one. To all of you who say that it is difficult to find info on childhood shingles, I am in complete agreement!
In late October, our 26 month old daughter began complaining of lower back pain while sitting in her car seat. She winced in pain saying, “it pinches” while clutching her lower back. We purchased a new car seat which made no difference. Her pain continued in the car, and then over the next few weeks it began to occur while she was sitting in her booster seat during meals, and then eventually while moving through other daily normal childhood activity. (All during this time she also had repeated sinus and ear infections, including 3 ear drum ruptures.) All fall we made several trips to the pediatrician, she had back x-rays, blood work was done, and in an unrelated issue – ear tube surgery scheduled for right before Christmas. In the middle of December she broke out in a rash that stretched from the small of her back (the source of 8 weeks of pain) across her left buttocks and down her left thigh. Three days after the rash appeared, she vomited all day long – unable to keep anything down. We figure this was yet a separate issue and consider this stomach virus to be a blessing, b/c it led us to take her to the emergency room. After countless tests (MRI, CAT scan, ultrasound, blood work) she was diagnosed with shingles, admitted to the hospital into an isolation unit, placed on acyclovir drip for the shingles and a rocephine drip for the sinus/ear infection and remained in the hospital for 5 nights. Two days after discharge she had her ear tubes put in. The poor little girl was completely traumatized for weeks by the physical pain and the hospital experience (staff wearing masks are scary for a 2 year old being poked and prodded all day). She still “plays out” her experience with her baby dolls and we encourage her to talk it out as much as she needs.
Two months after the hospital stay, she still complains that her left foot itches. My husband and I believe this to be possible post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) but are unable to find support – as most in the medical community do not seem to believe that PHN affects children. I have read several postings about recurrent bouts of shingles – this scares me to the core. I never want to see her struggle with this again. We, too had her vaccinated for varicella at exactly 1-yr of age. We also saw NO evidence that she had chicken pox prior to this shingles outbreak. Her grandpa had shingles over the summer, but everyone in the medical community that we talk to claims that shingles is not contagious. Um, then why was she treated like a leper in an isolation unit for a week in the hospital?
Our family is still struggling with this entire experience and where to go from here. I’d welcome any recommendations for physicians in the US who have a lot of experience with early childhood shingles. We have twin infants who will be due for varicella vaccines in June. At present we are seriously wrestling with whether or not they should recieve this particular vaccine.
Thanks for reading and good luck to you all.
February 23, 2009 at 7:11 am |
My daughter is 12 and similar to other stories had a light case of chicken pox at age 5 . she was not vaccinated but she was prescribed zovirax syrup at the time by her pedi. Today at age 12 she started with typical symptoms of pain in her back for 3 days which we thought she pulled muscle and on day 4 she had blisters and was immediately put on a 7 day course of zovirax 4hourly + antibiotic and paracetamol. She did not have much itching and slight pain, and the blisters are now dry and almost cleared. today is day 8 and she complains of pain in the area and is unable to sleep. i know it is still early and the area has probably not healed completely but am so afraid if she will have this pain on a long term basis , not much information about that and post herpetic neuralgia – they keep saying it happens to older people. please share what happened to your kids after the blisters dried – how long did it take after that and how long to keep her away from school. Also what do i do to make her stronger in terms of immunity – she is a healthy active child with good apetite !! i am very confused.
February 25, 2009 at 2:41 am |
My 4 year old boy was diagnosed with shingles today, he has not had the vaccination for chicken pox. (Dr. thinks he probably is immune to that now, and may not need it). But how did he get shingles, and never had chickenpox nor the vaccination?
February 28, 2009 at 1:05 pm |
MY 18 MONTH OLD BABY BOY BROKE OUT WITH A LITTLE RED DOT I DIDN’T THINK ANYTHING ABOUT UNTIL ONE DAY LATER HE HAD IT ALL OVER HIS LEG I TOOK HIM TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY TOLD ME HE HAD SHINGLES BUT HAD NEVER SEEN IT IN A BABY SO YOUNG THEY GAVE HOM SOME ACYCLOVIR AND SAID THAT WOULD HELP STOP THE GROWING I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SHINGLES HE ALSO DOES WALK OR TALK COULD THAT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT?
March 6, 2009 at 4:23 am |
My 3 year old was diagnosed with shingles today. She has it down her one leg. She has been complaining that her leg hurts and limps in the morning when she gets up. She had the chicken pox vaccine at 1 year and mild case of chicken pox last year.
The doctor said to give her oatmeal baths and some Tylenol. I am upset and hoping that it does not get worse. I am also concerned for my 10 month old who has not had chicken pox or the vaccine. Chances are high that she will develop chicken pox within the next week or so – especially since they have been bathing together. One good thing, I guess, she wont need the vaccine.
I have read the posts above and agree that the information out there is not accurate and wonder why the increase in shingle outbreak in children.
April 4, 2009 at 5:47 am |
My son is 6. He had the chicken pox vaccine and the booster. He’s had chicken pox twice and now has shingles. I believe he may have had shingles before and we just thought it was a reaction to soap and didn’t take him to the doctor. My other son has had 2 shots and chicken pox twice. I just can not believe this. I hesitated to give him the shot in the first place but it is required by schools.
April 5, 2009 at 10:36 am |
I was told Friday that my son may have shingles. However, the Dr. did not take a sample of the rash to know for sure which is really bothering me. I don’t know whether to take him for a second opinion or just wait it out and see if it’s poison ivy or shingles. He has no pain as of yet but the rash goes from under his eye and wraps around the nose and eyebrow on one side of his face. I have researched this and looked at photos but because of his severe reactions to poison ivy I question whether it is that or shingles. The Dr. started him on Acylovir right away, sent me to the opthamologist immediately to see if his eye has been affected and we have to go back next Friday as well. I thought the rash looked better last night but today it has definitely gotten worse… I’m freaking out because he commented that they can go blind from this.
My son had the vaccination and has never had chicken pox although he has been exposed to it. I questioned at the time whether or not to have my kids vaccinated but they told me that they had done testing for (I think she said 20 years but my memory could be wrong) with no adverse effects so I chose to vaccinate… Now I’m worried that if this is shingles my other 5 kids could be affected as well.
I am thankful that there has been no pain which also leads me to question whether this is for sure shingles… He has been sick in the last month which could have resulted in his immune deficiency. I just want to know if that is really what it is!
April 21, 2009 at 9:53 am |
My 6 year old daughter just had a very mild case of shingels. We had no idea what it was. i thought it was a patch of dry skin that maybe got infected. She ended up giving chicken pox to all her cousins and many friends since non of us vaccinated. She had had chicken pox when she 1 but it was not a mild case. She complained of the rash hurting but we were on vacation and it started scabbing over by the time we got home. I NEVER would have guessed shingels since i have been told it only effects adults. I had pox as a kid and got shingels as an adult when my kids had pox 3 years ago. They are not fun. Listen to your child and pamper them. I have a high pain tolerance and it really hurts!! I think there are way more cases then we know of since the only reason i figured it out was everyone around her got pox on the same day! MOre education needs to be given on this sunject!
April 23, 2009 at 7:58 am |
My 6 year old son was diagnosed with shingles yesterday. He developed them on his neck. They first appeared as pimples and resembled a heat rash. I waited a day and the rash did not look any better so I took him to the doctors. The first doctor looked at him and thought it was herpes (which he had 3 outbreaks on his ear prior). I then informed her that this showed up all of a sudden in a cluster and did not resemble the other attacks. My son complained that it itched and hurt at times. A second doctor came in and said it was shingles and asked if I had had him vaccinated (which he was up to date on all of them). On my way out of the office another doctor asked he she could look at my son as she had never seen shingles on a child (this did not make me feel any better). My son has gone through a number of rash issues over the last few weeks. He first had 2 outbreaks of the herpes on his ear and then a week and 1/2 after that he woke up on a Friday to have about eight spots on his forehead and about 3 spots on his torso. I took him to the doctors thinking he had the chicken pox and they said it was not the chicken pox and that it was hives. On Sunday I then called back and he was seen again by the doctor and this time he said he had ringworm but the doctor could not understand why there were so many on him (it is usually only one spot). We treated him with fungus cream for 2 weeks. Just when we thought we were on the mend he came down with a high fever for 5 days – again I took him to the doctors and was told it was viral (strep test taken and tested negative). Seven days after his fever ended he started again with another fever. I took him back to the doctors and was told he looked good but that they would do strep test but his throat looked good and that he was having some bad luck. Well as you can guess he did have strep and tested poistive at the office. The week after he stops the antibioitc for the strep he ends up with this rash and it turned out to be shingles. I was told by my doctor that he could go back to school as long as the spot was covered until it crusts over. When I brought the medication to school this morning and a note from the doctor the nurse said she has never seen shingles in a child. I am so glad I found this site. I do not feel alone. I am planning on asking another parent in my sons classroom if they received notification from the school.
May 1, 2009 at 1:32 pm |
I JUST CAN NOT BELEIVE WHAT I AM READING!!!!! I THOUGHT MAYBE SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY CHILDREN’S IMMUNE SYSTEM, AND THAT REALLY WORRIED ME! HOWEVER AFTER READING THESE POST I AM REALLY QUESTIONING HOW MUCH THEY REALLY KNOW ABOUT SHINGLES! FIRST LET ME TELL YOU I HAVE 3 CHILDREN,10,14.15,THE YOUNGEST HAS HAD THE SHOT ,AND HAS NOT YET HAD POX OR SHINGLES ……YET ,HOWEVER THE 2 OLDER ONES HAVE NOT HAD THE SHOT….THE OLDER ONES BOTH ONLY HAD A FEW POXS WHEN THEY WERE BETWEEN 2-4 YEARS OLD. ABOUT 7 MONTHES AGO MY HEALTHY 15 YEAR OLD SON WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SHINGLES, NOW TODAY MY HEALTHY 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS GIVING THE SAME DIAGNOSIS..I WAS VERY UPSET..HOW CAN THIS BE SO RARE ,YET NOT ONE BUT TWO OUT OF MY 3 CHILDREN GET IT? IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE ,I AM LEANING TOWARDS BELIEVING THAT IF YOU DID NOT HAVE A SEVERE CASE OF POXS AS A CHILD OR HAD IT VERY YOUNG OR BOTH THAT WOULD MEAN YOU DID NOT BUILD ENOUGH IMMUNITY!!!!NOT TO MENTION I HAD ONE OF THE DOCTORS SAY THIS TO ME,AS OTHERS HAVE BEEN TOLD THE SAME THING. THE WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM ANSWER DOES NOT SIT WELL WITH ME EITHER. IT SEEMS TO NOT MATTER WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD THE SHOT THESE KIDS ARE ALL PROOF IT IS NOT AS RARE AS IT IS BELEIVED TO BE FOR WHAT EVER REASON ,AND THAT IT DOES HAPPEN TO KIDS WHO DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEMS, I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD BE SICK MORE BESIDES RANDOMLY GETTING SHINGLES IF THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM WAS WEAK. I AM SO GLAD I AM NOT ALONE,I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SELFISH BUT IT GIVES ME PEACE OF MIND REALIZING IT CAN’T BE THAT RARE ! IT DOES ME YOU WONDER IF THER IS MORE TO IT.I HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE ELSE HAVE A LITTLTE PEACE OF MIND!
May 5, 2009 at 1:17 am |
Hi,
My healthy, happy son (aged 5 yesterday) was diagnosed with shingles this morning by two doctors. Symptoms include blotches of a raised red rash on upper right leg. The rash feels hot and tender but is not itchy (yet?). He does not have a raised temperature. Previously, he had chicken pox as a two year old and has not been vaccinated (as this vaccine is not given in the UK). We have not received or requested any medication and have been advised to take it easy and expect recovery in 2 to 3 weeks. Also, we have been advised that he can attend school if he is well enough as the rash is covered by trousers. However, I will keep him at home for a few days to rest and recover in peace.
May 6, 2009 at 9:53 am |
My 5 year old son was diagnosed today with Shingles. I thought it was poison ivy,although I couldn’t figure out how he would get it in one spot under his shirt, and it wasn’t itchy, but hurt. Then it started spreading down his torso. He got a nice case of the POX 10 days after his vaccination. At the time we were having rash issues and had just changed creams around, so, the dermatologist BIOPSIED it-left a nice scar on his back. I was, and still am worried that something is wrong with his immune system since he is getting them so young. My father-in law -not by blood- had shingles about 7 years ago and has the horrible postherpetic arthralgia-he sometimes can’t stand a shirt to touch his chest , or to give a hug -has been in constant pain since. I hope this stops spreading and gets gone soon. We are expecting a new little cousin in 2 weeks! Blessings, Teri
May 13, 2009 at 9:44 pm |
I had shingles when I was 8 years old (1980). It awakened me in the middle of the night. It felt like needles being stabbed into my back. It was extremely painful. I woke up my mom and told her about my pain. She looked at my back and found nothing, so she sent me back to bed. She said I probably had been bitten by mosquitoes. Ha! That morning I had blisters.
I had the chicken pox when I was about 4 or 5. When I got the shingles, I had been under some stress at home. I was a very energetic, and healthy kid. At the age of 13 I got mononucleosis that lasted for quite awhile. Dr.’s were just discovering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the time. My mom still to this day swears that’s what I got and that I still have it. During this time, I also got strep throat. I’m not sure if these are linked in any way.
I am now 37 years old with two children of my own. One got chicken pox at 2 years old, and my 1 year old at the time only had a few dots. (1995) When I took my kids to the pediatrician, she informed me there was a new vaccine for chicken pox. She told me that since my youngest had a few dots, that I could choose to vaccinate or not. I chose not to. My children are now 15 and 16 years old. (knock on wood) They have not had any shingles. I pray to God that they never do! It is very painful.
It is comforting, in a twisted way, to know that others have had shingles as children. All this time it has been a mystery to me why and how I got it. I have tried to find information about shingles in children for years. I have 3 siblings, who never got it either. So, I’m not sure on the idea of it being contagious.
I wish healing for everyone. It would be awesome if there were more research on this topic.
May 18, 2009 at 2:07 am |
We live in London, England and as a result of our 4 year old having her 3 case of shingles (the last 2 cases in the last 6 months) we have ended up on this site. The really interesting piece of information that I would like to pass on to all of you who read this site is that we do not have the Vaccine here in the UK. Like a lot of you, we do NOT believe that our daughter ever had chicken pox (no matter how ‘mild’).
In our case the rash is right in the centre of her back and whilst it gets quite itchy it does not appear to cause her any pain.
Anyway, i thought it worth mentioning the fact she has never had any chicken pox vaccine (to our knowledge!).
I hope this adds in some way to the debate and general conversation.
May 18, 2009 at 11:33 pm |
I am enraged!!!! My daughter is five years old, and has acquired Shingles more than six times already!!
The pediatricians have no answers!!! They just keep giving me medicine.
Now, they tell me I must take her to a special eye doctor, who can perform a special test to see if it has affected her eyesight! (But they cannot recommend an eye doctor. -I have to find one on my own!)
I’m so angry!
Of course this is due to the Chicken Pox vaccine? Let’s get together and start a lawsuit against the individuals, or doctors who are making these vaccines mandatory, without giving a shit about what the consequences are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 19, 2009 at 12:51 am |
My five-year old daughter got diagnosed with shingles two days ago. Three months ago, she came down with an itchy rash on her leg and abdomen, and they said she has chicken pox, even though she was vaccinated. Since then she’s had two more outbreaks, one on her leg and one at the base of her head, and they finally said she has shingles. So far, it’s mostly been itchy for her, but will it get worse? If she’s had three outbreaks in the past three months, does that mean she will get it often? I need answers, and there are none. The doctor wasn’t able to tell me very much, but I do think there is a genetic component. My husband had chicken pox twice as a child (so far no shingles) so he definitely has issues with the virus. I do still think something has changed with the disease, though, after the vaccine has come out. It’s a shame they didn’t do more research into the virus before they put out a vaccine. The next step, I’m sure, is approving the “shingles vaccine” for kids. (Currently it’s only for people over 60.) But will that really solve the problem?
May 27, 2009 at 12:11 am |
I have just taken my 6 year old daughter to the doctors as she has had a rash for over a week now, and was told it was shingles and was given some cream that will clear it up.
Fuming I also took my daughter for all her jabs even though some of them I didnt want to but most pre schools wouldnt accept your child if you didnt. Now she has had all the jabs I have been forced to give her by these professionals, and now she has shingles, she also suffers from impetigo, its totally crazy as she eats healthly and her brother isnt so good on that but he gets nothing..
June 10, 2009 at 7:45 am |
Another one –my healthy 12 yr old son was just diagnosed with shingles! I am a nurse and today when I told everyone at work that I thought my son had shingles, they looked at me like I was crazy. The affected area is on his upper left leg. They said it is normally on the chest and doesn’t occur in children. Well, he just proved them wrong!!! He had a mild case of chicken pox when he was a year old. He said that the pain feels like someone is poking him with a very sharp knife over and over again. He is on acyclovir and pain meds now so is doing better. I have three other kids (two had chicken pox and one had the immunization) that I worry about. Thanks to the blog owner for keeping this page going. It is nice to know that my son is not alone.
June 23, 2009 at 10:32 pm |
My 4 year old also was just diagnosed with Shingles four days ago. It also started on her upper left thigh as a red swollen hard spot that eventually began to weep and turn into multiple eruptions. It has mainly stayed in that one area, but has other locations on her face and hand, though much less. She has never had any pain or itching with it. I believe that is because she is so young, but not sure.
June 12, 2009 at 9:23 pm |
My daughter had chicken pox when she was 6 weeks old a very mild case
and when she was 5 she fell at school and passed out for about 20 seconds she came too i took her to the er they ran all knds of test Thank God everything came back ok!! about 4 days after this incident i noticed a rash on her right forehead had no idea what it was took her to dr right away he first said chicken pox i said no shes already had it , he noticed the blisters were forming and said it looked like shingles come to find out it was. she had them on her scalp and forehead above her eyeand she was in so much pain the week after her accident, poor baby i felt so bad for her as the blisters broke they burned her skin she had a fever with hers and she threw up. this lasted for about aweek she got better. she is now 9 yrs old and still occasionally gets a scap formed where the scar on her forehead from the shingles is. and it gets really tender and itchy i was wondering if anyone elses children experiences this long term effect please let me know and thank you for posting this because so little is known about shingles in children
July 3, 2009 at 12:04 am |
My 14 year old son had a very severe case of chicken pox when he was only 3 months old. A little over 2 weeks ago he broke out with shingles. I took him to the doctor and he said it was poison ivy. I asked him if he was sure it wasn’t shingles and he blew me off. Now, my son is miserable and in a lot of pain and has contracted a secondary infection that has caused his lymph glands to swell and hurt. I took him back to the doctor and after the doctor himself called in for a second opinion, he finally decided that it was indeed shingles. I am very frustrated and worried for my son. I have been reading that shingles can cause permanent nerve damage and the pain sometimes never goes away.
July 7, 2009 at 2:57 am |
I got shingles the same time as my mother in law. A fourtnight later my 7 year old caught shingles. All have had chickenpox. Just backs up evidence that shingles can be spread and yet the doctors still told me yes, they were shingles but not likely to be spread………..da ! No one was ill at all, just spotty.