Exposure to Shingles during Pregnancy?

[Anonymous]

I am 14 weeks pregnant and just found out that my coworker who I share a cubicle with has shingles. I had chickenpox as a child, does this mean I am for sure immune to chickenpox or is there still a chance I could get it? Anyone with any experience with this?

[Anonymous]

I think this deserves a call to your doctor when their office opens in the morning.

I think you're ok if you've had chicken pox, but definitely verify that.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Yeah I am definitely going to call my OB in the morning but I don't want to bother him now after hours.

[Anonymous]

You can check with your doctor if you are concerned, but my understanding is that you and the baby, by virtue of being in utero, should definitely be immune if you had it as a kid. The virus would only show up again as shingles. (And, FYI, you can't get shingles from exposure to someone with shingles.) You can also get a test to see if you have immunity (for example if you don't remember having it), but in this case I don't think it is worth the bother. I remember checking all this when my husband got the pox and our youngest was a newborn. (Yeah, that was fun!) At that time, they said the newborn probably would have some of my immunity too, as she was so young and was breast-feeding. Don't know if that was true, but she didn't get the pox.

[Anonymous]

Usually once you've had the disease (Chicken pox / shingles) you are immune. If you've had cancer and have gone through radiation/chemotherapy or have had other diseases that compromise your immune system (i.e., Aids) then your immunity may no longer be present. What did your OB say?

[Anonymous]

When I was about 8 weeks pregnant I was supposed to visit with a friend and found out she had shingles. I called my OB and they told me it was not recommended to be around her. Even though I had chicken pox as a child, they said it is possible that if the case wasn't very bad that I may not have immunity. I just ended up not seeing her -- not sure what they would have recommended if I had been around her that weekend....

[Anonymous]

OP here: OB said to avoid contact with the sores of the infected person and that I should be fine since I had Chicken pox as a child. He said it was very rare to get it a second time.

[Anonymous]

when i was 20 months pregnant my coworker had shingles yet i never had the chicken pox. she had me get tested to see if i was immuned and i was. she also told me it is rare to get the chicken px from shingles but it has been known to happen.

[Anonymous]

20 months pregnant? You must have been HUUUGE!

[Anonymous]

Tell your doc that shingles aren't contagious.