Pregnancy and Shingles

[Nat_lou]

Hi everyone, just looking for a bit of advice as i can't get in touch with my midwife until Monday.
My mum has been diagnosed with Shingles today. I'm 23 weeks pregnant and have not long ago moved back into her house.
I read on Google that Shingles is not contagious but anyone with shingles should avoid pregnant women.
This is a little difficult, if it's true as i'm now living back with her.
Has anyone been in a similar situation before or know of any more information before i am able to get in contact with a midwife?
I don't really know what to do for the best.
Thanks,
Nat.

 

[GBLiz]

not sure about how to avoid contagion but my friend caught shingles at 38 weeks pregnant, they gave her strong antivirals and it was cleared up within a week and she had the baby a few days after it had cleared and all was fine. obviously you;d rather not catch it though

 

[BunnyN]

This information is quite good
https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/about/transmission.html

 

[Nat_lou]

Thank you. I'll still ring the midwife on the Monday and ask. I don't have a problem with staying in bed for 2 days. Haha!!

 

[MrsBunny]

The risk with shingles is that it can cause chickenpox, so they'll probably treat it the same way as chickenpox exposure. Have you already had it? If so, you'll be immune and there's no worries

If you've never had it, they will be able to give you a protective treatment called immunoglobulin, which does what your immune system would do if you were immune to the virus. The gp will check your blood first, to see if you're already immune (some people are, even if they can't remember being infected before - they probably just had a mild case when they were younger)

The key to that protection is to get it asap. Though there are antivirus drugs they can give you if you do get infected, so don't worry.

https://www.nct.org.uk/pregnancy/chickenpox-pregnancy

 

[MrsBunny]

Ps you only get shingles from within your own body - its a reactivation of an old chickenpox infection. Tends to happen when you're run down for some other reason, so your immune system doesn't keep it at bay.

(so you cant 'catch' shingles, but its possible to catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles)