AfterShingles.com – Shingles Symptoms, Treatment and Pain Management


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Experts Corner

Q & A Archive

Is shingles contagious?

Shingles is generally not contagious; however it can be1. Shingles occurs only when the virus in a person's body becomes active2. Generally, contact with an infected person or your loved one coughing or sneezing will not cause shingles3.

Contact with a person with shingles could lead to chicken pox in someone who has never had chicken pox or who has not received the varicella vaccine3.

The main period when your loved one may become contagious is when they develop blisters with clear fluid and the rash covering the blisters has not developed crusts. The virus can spread through the skin of any healthy person (who never had chickenpox in his/her life) that comes into contact with any open wounds/rashes/blisters of the patient suffering from shingles disease4.

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The PHN Pain Checklist and PHN Pain Management Calendar are tools you can use to help you talk about your pain with your healthcare professional.

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Do you have the facts to identify if you or your loved one suffers from shingles or postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)?

2
Cure PHN: Your Questions Answered. VZV Research Foundation, Inc. 2004: 1-6. Available at: http://www.vzvfoundation.org/publicdownloads/PHN_Brochure_Feb2004.pdf. Accessed April 6, 2009.
4
Harpaz R, Ortega-Sanchez IR and Seward JF. Prevention of Herpes Zoster: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2008; 57(05): 1-30. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5705a1.htm. Accessed April 6, 2009.
3
Shingles: hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web site. Available at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/detail_shingles.htm. Accessed February 9, 2009.
1
Shingles Vaccine: What You Need to Know. Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf. Accessed February 20, 2009.