My 5yr old boy has just been diagnosed as having Shingles.
He has two clusters of ‘red bumps' which look very much like insect
bites and itch just the same. One cluster is on his right shoulder and
the other on his left buttock.
Thus, a myth exploded! The myth is that Shingles only appears on a single part on the body.
Fortunately for children, they do not experience the same
debilitating and painful symptoms that adults with shingles experience.
There is no outward indication of a virus other than the appearance of
the itchy rash.
I have kept my son's itching under control with prescribed aqueous
callamine cream. The itching is not severe enough for an anti-histamine
product.
A great resource for finding out why shingles in children occurs,
how contagious it is (or rather isn't) and how to treat it etc. can be
found here:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_shingles_hhg.htm
The source indicates that Shingles is only contagious if you make
contact with the rash itself and even then only to people who have not
yet contracted chicken pox. Shingles is worse for adults and can
reoccur more than once. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women
and as such anyone with Shingles should avoid contact.
Shingles is apparently caused by the already contracted chicken pox
virus which then lies dormant in the system and reawakens (perhaps
during times of low immunity, stress or ill health) as Shingles.
As stated, Shingles in children is usually without any other symptom
aside from the appearance of the rash (which may leave scars) and
itching. BUT if the rash is near the eyes or nose then medical
attention should be sought immediately.
For adults with Shingles or adults worried about contracting Shingles, a great source of information is here:
http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/shingles.html
All the above aside, some
people dispute the medical opinion re how Shingles is contracted. Some
believe that the chicken pox vaccine itself is responsible for an
increase of Shingles in children. I am not aware of the details of this
or how valid their concerns are. Neither of my children had this
vaccine and both contracted chicken pox the regular way….from their
friends without any serious consequence.
Meanwhile, as to how to treat Shingles in children.
Keep them off school for 7 days is the Doctors
advice (to me) and away from pregnant women and other children without
their parents consent.
My Doctor also suggested it was unlikely any of
the family would ‘catch' the Shingles from my son, but said it was
possible. That is despite the fact we've all had chicken pox and the
advice on the sources suggests we cannot ‘catch' Shingles as Shingles
is a dormant virus which if it appears, it's appears as a result of our
own virus not someone elses!
I don't know who is right, but in light of the contradictory advice, caution is recommended.
My advice is to
apply cream to your child with Shingles while wearing a surgical glove
or let them apply the cream themselves under your strict supervision.
Issue them with their own towel and don't allow any sharing of towels until the virus has cleared.
Avoid cuddling you child, sharing eating appliances and definitely do not touch that rash!
These are my tips not those recommended by the medical profession, but they can't hurt any!
Edit: After having Googled for pictures of Shingles in children I am doubting my child has shingles afterall! I think they are insect bites which may explain why they appear in more than one place on his body. But I will exercise caution in any case.
Pics of Shingles (from the web) in children
