My 13 year old son was just diagnosed with shingles. That seems so weird to me. He had a horrible case of the chicken pox when he was only 7 months old, one of the worst cases I've ever seen. It was right before the chicken pox vaccine became available. My step-dad had shingles whenever I was in high school, and I remember how awful it was for him, and I've heard horror stories about other older people, but have never heard of someone as young as 13 getting it. The doctor said that because younger people have such good immune systems, my son should be better in about a week. Thank goodness! I want him feeling better just because I love him, and we have a vacation planned in about a week.
So, have any of you heard of someone so young having shingles? I'm just curious. :)
My nephew got it as a toddler...and the thought was that it was a complication of the chicken pox vaccine??? May or may not be the cause.
No, I haven't. Just wanted to mention that when my husband had it, the pharmacist recommended dabbing Maalox (plain) on the rash to cool it down a bit--and it did work to relieve some discomfort for my husband.
i used to teach and i had a TON of 16 year olds with it...shockingly how many. i think a lot of it came from overstressed and overextended HS kids. However, if she is a high strung kid, i can totally see it. it is more often than not stress related. i had it in my early 20's and know several that did as well. i am sure they have put her on a valtrex or something like that and then a pain killer...mine was not that severe, so i got off easy. L-lysine supplements will help also...500 - 1000 mg a day. it is a lifesaver. whenever i am feeling run down or stressed out, I take that with a multi B complex....
good luck...i know it is not fun for ANY of you!
my husband had it at age 34. he was very stressed from work. yes, get some valtrex and some painkillers.
my older brother had it in Jr High (pre-teen)... I had it in my 20's, it happens
My nephew got it about that age. Hopefully he'll feel better in time for the vacation...bummer timing! :(
My 14 year old son had it before school ended this year. I just thought it was poison ivy. It itched REALLY bad and he had to cover it because it was irritated by his shirt. It was on his left side of his ribs/waist. Anyways, I took him in for a well child check up after it cleared up and asked about his scar from poison ivy etc. Then the dr said it was shingle and that stress can cause it and from having the vaccine. He has never had chicken pox. It's been 3 months now and the scar is almost gone. Since I thought it was poison ivy we just used stuff for that and it helped a little. I hope he's better!
Shingles, chicken pox, and herpes are all the same virus, just with different manifestations. It is one of the horrible viruses that hands around, waiting to "get" you.
I got them at 18, in my freshman year of college. Horrible pain for about two weeks. Hope it is not too bad for your boy.
I had shingles a few years ago. I got on the anti-viral med and it was nothing more than an annoyance. My husband suffered as they didn't have that med when he had it about 25 years ago.
My God child who was 12 had it last year and then her 3 year old brother got the chicken pox from it. Weird.
My sister had a brain tumor at age 9 and with chemo and radiation if messed up her immune system really bad and she got a case of the shingles. I've heard it's got a lot to do with the strength of your immune system.
My understanding is that even if you've had chicken pox you can still get shingles. My 12 year got chicken pox when she was 6 months old and I was told that because she was under a year old then there's a slight possibility she could get it again, or even shingles. So I think the fact that our kids got chicken pox at such a young age plays a factor.
My son and also one of his friends had shingles at age 7, got them two weeks apart. My son also had chicken pox at age 8 WEEKS as an infant, and the Dr. said "impossible", but checked him and sure enough. He was exposed at age 6 weeks. Unusual in first three months of life, should have better immunity.
Chicken pox are contagious and Shingles can be with open blisters ... shedding virus. Incubation 7 to 14 days. If blisters break, they can spread. Shingles can be treated with anti-viral med like Acyclovir, but usually a short window of time to be effective. My mother had shingles at 92, dreadfully painful, even used accupuncture to help with the pain. Took about a month for relief. Some shingles pain can become chronic and can recur. Shingles often follow path of a nerve. I have seen them on face, around the eye, head, chest, breast, armpit, rib cage, abdomen, buttocks, hips, in the butt crack. Some cases can also be internal where you can't see any outbreak and can be very debilitating. In the Herpes family, fever blisters, genital herpes, herpes Whitlow (on the fingers). Not to scare anyone, but have seen chickenpox and shingles cause encephalitis and meningitis, where brain was involved, patient's had to be on IV therapy.
RN
I had shingles when I was 15 years old. I wasn't that sick but I had a prickly rash all over my side and rib cage area. It was really painful. I had a bad case of chicken pox when I was 2...
It is unusual, but not unheard of. There is some speculation in the medical community as to whether the chicken pox vaccine will contribute to more cases of shingles because there are fewer people walking around with chicken pox. For those of us who have had chicken pox, when we are exposed to kids with chicken pox, even on a casual basis it is like getting a booster shot to prevent shingles. Common sense dictates that fewer kids walking around with chicken pox would lead to an increase in shingles cases. The last time I read about this in the literature it stated that shingles cases for adults had not yet budged, but I wonder if shingles in children has increased (they didn't mention that in the article). Of course I am just speculating, but I've actually heard quite a bit about this (from this site, and from friends) over the past few months. Makes you wonder! I hope you son recovers quickly. Best of luck.
I don't know about younger kids getting it (although I have seen cases of it in research I did), but I just had it a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, it was a fairly mild case and I was put on medication within 48 hours of the bumps appearing, so that helped keep it at bay. I'm over it now and the only thing that really happened was that the bumps itched. Mine was stress induced, so I'm trying hard to take it easy, but we're moving to another state on Wednesday and so things are just crazy right now. I also had surgery 2 weeks prior to getting it, so my immune system was already compromised. I hope that your son gets better soon and that it doesn't get too bad. Again, having done some research when the doctor told me that is what I had, I did see that younger kids can get it too. So sorry for you guys! Hang in there!
My granddaughter at 15 yo. Fast recovery so you should be good to go on
vacation.
I had shingles when I was eight. I've also had it twice since then but luckily, they were mild cases.
This is unlikely to have anything to do with your son, but when i was 45, they discovered a glitch in my immune system. I mention itbecause my mother became so frustrated with my unexplained illnesses, aches and pains that it interfered with our relationship. Even doctors labeled me a hypochondriac. It can be hard enough to go through all that without anger or frustration from your caregivers.
Yes, my son had it at age 4. Not a common thing, but it does happen. My son had the chicken pox vaccine and got shingles. Strange, but yes, it does happen.
