Is Shingles A Contagious Disease?

Posted on Mon, 24 Jul 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 Answered on

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : My girlfriend has an outbreak of shingles. We are scheduled to babysit for my grandchildren (ages 5 and 2) this weekend. Are the children at risk of contracting chicken pox or the shingles virus?

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
probably...

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

when there are active lesions there is the chance to transmit the virus. Normally the children should have started (or even completed vaccination against chickenpox). If the 5 years old has completed vaccination then the chances to get chickenpox are very low. The younger one may be in danger.

So just in case you should avoid coming into contact with them (particularly with the young one) until the lesions have healed. The same applies for pregnant women without a documented previous exposure to chickenpox.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar