Is shingles contagious? Moms must know this

Early spring is the season when the shingles bacteria are most active. Many people are particularly susceptible to shingles infection during this season, especially for children whose immune systems are not yet fully developed. Prevention must be strengthened during this season. So is shingles contagious? This has always been a concern for mothers. In fact, shingles is contagious!

In the past, some people believed that shingles was not contagious. However, clinical observations at home and abroad in recent years have found that shingles is still contagious to a certain extent, especially in infants, pregnant women, and people with low immunity who have had close contact with shingles patients and have never been vaccinated against chickenpox. They may be infected by the varicella vaccine.

Chickenpox and shingles may seem like two unrelated diseases, but they are actually caused by the same virus, the varicella-zoster virus. Some people will develop chickenpox after being infected with the virus during childhood, while a few people may be latently infected and not show symptoms.

After that, the virus will remain dormant in the body for a long time without causing disease. If the body's immunity decreases in adulthood, the varicella-zoster virus may be activated and multiply, causing neuropathy and leading to the occurrence of shingles.

Foreign studies have shown that the blister fluid of patients with shingles contains a large amount of virus, and children without anti-varicella-zoster virus may be exposed to varicella blister fluid.

Although the probability of this happening to normal and healthy adults is relatively low, elderly people with shingles should still avoid close contact with grandchildren and infants. For normal and healthy adults, since they have relatively sound immune mechanisms and resistance, they are generally not infected, so there is no need for deliberate isolation.

Differential Diagnosis

1. This disease sometimes needs to be differentiated from herpes simplex, which often occurs at the junction of the skin and mucous membrane, with no definite pattern of distribution. The blisters are small and easy to break, and there is no pain. It is more common in the course of fever (especially high fever) and is often prone to recurrence.

2. Occasionally it is confused with contact dermatitis, but the latter has a history of contact, the rash is not related to nerve distribution, and the patient feels burning and severe itching but no neuralgia.

3. During the prodromal period of herpes zoster and herpes zoster, patients with neuralgia are easily misdiagnosed as acute abdominal diseases such as intercostal neuralgia, pleurisy, and acute appendicitis, so attention should be paid.