Chickenpox

[tamirra]

Morning, mu daughter has Behcet's disease, she had chickenpox when she was 13, her daughter has woken up this morning with it, because my daughter is taking Cellcept (immunosuppressants ) i have contacted Hammersmith hospital to ask them if it was ok for my daughter to be around her daughter while she is contagious and they said it was fine unless my daughter hasnt had chickenpox, but i have today read on the NHS page that she must stay away from anyone who has it, whose advice should i take. does anyone know? Thanks

[ojread2]

The most contagious stage of chicken pox is before the rash comes out
You can catch it more than once, in fact you can have it more than twice
Can you look after your grand daughter?

Has your daughter recently had a transplant?

[tamirra]

Yes i can look after her, and no my daughter hasn`t had a transplant, why would my daughters consultant say it would be fine if she came into contact with chickenpox then? i dont understand because it can make her very ill.

[ojread2]

I really couldn't say why your consultant has said this although it could be due to a complication of chicken pox, which is shingles and I think that is what would make your daughter very ill
Please dont take my word for it my knowledge is basic, but I would certainly advise doing as your consultant suggests

[ojread2]

that should say 'which COULD be shingles'

[daffy654]

Shingles is not a complication of chickenpox, they are two separate infections caused by the same virus.

[daffy654]

//// Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus infection that causes chickenpox. After a person has had chickenpox the virus remains in their body, lying dormant or hidden in part of the nervous system.

For some reason, often many years later, the virus travels back down one of the nerves to the skin, where it causes a rash in the area of skin supplied by that nerve.

It's not clear what triggers reactivation of the chickenpox virus but it may be linked to changes in the immune system such as an infection elsewhere in the body, or after physical or emotional shock. Ensuring your immune system is not weakened may help to prevent this occurring.

Around one in four people will develop shingles in their lifetime, with men and women affected equally. It's most common in older people, although it can also occur in younger people and those with a weakened immune system.

The skin blisters that form in shingles are full of the chickenpox virus, which means a person with shingles is infectious. You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles, if you've never had the infection and therefore aren't immune. But you can't catch shingles from someone with shingles (or someone with chickenpox).

Most adults - about 95 per cent - have been exposed to chickenpox and are immune, even though many aren't aware of it (they may have had only a mild dose of chickenpox when they were young). However, a small number of adults aren't immune and will be at risk. Also, when the immune system is suppressed (for example, when someone is being treated for cancer), a person can catch chickenpox for a second time. ////


http://www.bbc.co.uk/...tions/shingles1.shtml

[tamirra]

So you think Daffy that my daughter could catch it again then, is that right?

[daffy654]

I would say so Tamirra judging by the last couple of lines in the article, it says anyone with a suppressed immune system is at risk of catching it again.

[ojread2]

and if they have had chickenpox it could be shingles not CP - complication of CP

[tamirra]

Ive read you can catch chicken pox from shingles but definatly not the other way around, luckly my grand-daughter has a mild case, so im hoping this makes it less likley that my daughter could catch it again. x