a lady at my new job had shingles last week. She is supposed to train
me on Tues. Is she still contagious? I need to know for sure,
because we share phones and stuff behind a desk. I've had chicken pox
when i was a kid, but still. Also my 5 year old hasn't had chicken pox
and i don't want to bring something home to her. So after a week of
her getting shingles, is she contagious?
Herpes zoster
(or simply zoster), commonly known as shingles, is a viral disease
characterised by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on
one side of the body, often in a stripe. The initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes the acute (short-lived) illness chickenpox,
and generally occurs in children and young people. Once an episode of
chickenpox has resolved, the virus is not eliminated from the body but
can go on to cause shingles—an illness with very different
symptoms—often many years after the initial infection.
The rash and pain usually subside within 3 to 5 weeks. Many patients
develop a painful condition called postherpetic neuralgia, which is
often difficult to manage. In some patients, herpes zoster can
reactivate subclinically, with pain in a dermatomal distribution without
rash.
Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, the virus
that causes shingles, VZV, can be spread from a person with active
shingles to a person who has no immunity to the virus by direct contact
with the rash, while in the blister phase. The person exposed would then
develop chicken pox, not shingles. The virus is not spread through
airborne transmission, such as sneezing or coughing. Once the rash has
developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious. A person is not
infectious before blisters appear or with post-herpetic neuralgia (pain
after the rash is gone).
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