Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsRisk FactorsSymptomsDiagnosisTreatmentPreventionComplications
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Risk Factors
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Complications
Shinglesis the name for an infectious disease involving an itchy, sometimes painful rash that results from a viral infection in the nerves just beneath the skin. The medical term for shingles is herpes zoster. The virus that causes shingles—varicella-zoster virus(VZV)—is the same one that causeschickenpox.
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Shingles Overview
Shingles is not typically thought to affect children. It usually occurs in adults over age 60, but the risk of shingles continues to increase as a person ages, so teenagers are at a higher risk of shingles than are small children.
In fact, a study reports that shingles is 10 times more likely to occur in adults over age 60 than in kids under age 10.
That said, certain factors pose an increased risk in kids. These include children who:
If Your Child Receives the Chickenpox Vaccine, Can They Still Get Shingles?Children who get the chickenpox vaccine still have a small risk of shingles. But it may be a lower risk than after a chickenpox infection. And the symptoms may be less severe.
If Your Child Receives the Chickenpox Vaccine, Can They Still Get Shingles?
Children who get the chickenpox vaccine still have a small risk of shingles. But it may be a lower risk than after a chickenpox infection. And the symptoms may be less severe.
Children with shingles often develop initial symptoms including:
Shingles is often experienced as a pins and needles sensation under the skin. This is because the nerves are involved.
Within five days of initial symptoms, a rash appears as a strip of skin that is reddened and irritated with blisters. The rash typically occurs in the area where the symptoms of burning or itching began.
Children Experience Milder Shingles Symptoms Than AdultsSymptoms of shingles are usually milder in children than in adults. Kids rarely developpost-herpetic neuralgia(PHN), which is a serious, long-term complication involving constant pain and sensitivity in the area that the shingles rash initially occurred.
Children Experience Milder Shingles Symptoms Than Adults
Symptoms of shingles are usually milder in children than in adults. Kids rarely developpost-herpetic neuralgia(PHN), which is a serious, long-term complication involving constant pain and sensitivity in the area that the shingles rash initially occurred.
A diagnosis of shingles may involve:
The treatment of shingles depends on the child’s overall health, age, and symptoms. The severity of symptoms will also dictate the type of treatment prescribed.
Treatment for shingles may include:
Pain Medications and ChildrenBe sure to discuss pain medication with a pediatrician, and keep in mind that aspirin can cause a serious condition calledReye’s syndromein children and that ibuprofen should never be given to a child under 6 months of age (without the approval of the healthcare provider).
Pain Medications and Children
Be sure to discuss pain medication with a pediatrician, and keep in mind that aspirin can cause a serious condition calledReye’s syndromein children and that ibuprofen should never be given to a child under 6 months of age (without the approval of the healthcare provider).
Home Remedies
Home remediesoften used to treat shingles include:
Consult with the pediatrician before administering any over-the-counter medications or home remedies.
Medication
Although shingles cannot always be prevented, the chickenpox vaccine can help to decrease the severity of symptoms when a child does get shingles. Be sure to consult with your pediatrician about your child’s chickenpox vaccine schedule if your child has not yet been vaccinated.
Preventing Chickenpox
Usually, shingles resolves with or without medical intervention. Rarely, complications (additional symptoms or conditions) may occur. Complications that may occur as a result of a child having shingles include:
A Word From Verywell
If your child has symptoms of shingles, it is important to contact a healthcare provider right away. The pediatrician will advise you as to when your child is contagious and when they can return to school or daycare. The blisters from the shingles rash should be completely covered when possible. Your child is contagious until the blisters are dry and scabbed over. Avoid close contact with those who are most at risk, including:
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Shingles: are you at risk?University of Rochester Medical Center.Shingles (herpes zoster) in children.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles.Stanford Children’s Health.Reye syndrome in children.Kids Health from Nemours.Shingles for parents.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Shingles: are you at risk?University of Rochester Medical Center.Shingles (herpes zoster) in children.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles.Stanford Children’s Health.Reye syndrome in children.Kids Health from Nemours.Shingles for parents.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Shingles: are you at risk?University of Rochester Medical Center.Shingles (herpes zoster) in children.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles.Stanford Children’s Health.Reye syndrome in children.Kids Health from Nemours.Shingles for parents.
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Shingles: are you at risk?
University of Rochester Medical Center.Shingles (herpes zoster) in children.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles.
Stanford Children’s Health.Reye syndrome in children.
Kids Health from Nemours.Shingles for parents.
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