Just got back in from the ER with my 4 year old . She had a rash that started on her arm Thursday, Today she slept on and off all day long, when she woke up around 7:30 tonight she started throwing up and has a low grade fever. The rash has gone from a small area to all the way up her arm to the shoulder and even in the palm of her hand and on her fingers. The Doctor DX'ed her with Shingles, Gave her some Meds for the fever and pain and some for the stomach. We wrapped her arm with a badage and put band- Aids on the fingers.

She has NEVER had the Chicken Pox, As a matter of fact None of the 4 thats at home have ever had the Poxs, None of the kids at School have Chicken Pox Nor has any of them had the Chicken Pox durning this school year. The Doctor said she probably had the live Shot and this is where its comming from.

My Question tho is.
How long will or does , did it last ?
Did any of your other children get the chicken pox ?
Did your little one scar from this ?
Have they had it again since the last time ?

I know Older people get this, it's kinda of rare a small child gets them. But the pain from the shingle can be just as painful for either group.
Cheyenne is complaining of her arm Stringing/ burning. I tried to look this up but there's little info on Children with shingles.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thank - You

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I've never known of a child having them, but I had them 2 1/2 years ago and I still have pain from them.

I'm so sorry for your little one and I hope they don't last long for her or that she won't have any lasting affects from them.
They really are painful.

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Thank -You Barb, She's sleeping right now, but Bad thing is my DH has never had the Chicken Pox and the Dr said he might get them from the fluild in the blisters. But she SLEEPS with us at least 3 nights a week if not more. Shes sleeping right now in our bed I dont know how to tell ehr she can't sleep with us as she's a affraid to sleep alone in the dark ( cant leave the light on she shares a room with my 10 year old DD )...

She said they are not itchy just burns/ stings..
I too had never heard of a child this age or any age before the 50's 60's year age group getitng shingles, I was to say the least very taken back when not only the DR said it was shingle but 2 nurses before he even saw Cheyenne .

Do you think she will get a break out again ??
If so does it get worse each time ? did yours get worse ?

TIA

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That just doesn't sound right. I would take her back for a second opinion. There is alot of strep going around here and the symptoms sound similar. Did he give her antibiotics or just an anti-viral? Don't be embarrassed to go back. Let us know how she's doing.

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No, she shouldn't break out again once her blisters dry up, but while they are still active they can spread. The bad part is, unlike Chicken Pox, Shingles can return at another time down the road.

You really need to figure out another sleeping arrangement until her blisters dry up. They say when adults get Chicken Pox, it's much worse than when children have them, so you'll want to try to keep your DH from getting them. Maybe he can sleep somewhere else for that time or maybe you and she can sleep in another bed until she's dried up.

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Barb


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Personily, I think doctors should revisit this problem. They say it only happens in people over 60 who have had chickenpox and that you should only get them once. My dd had them 3 times with the first time at age 45. The last time he had them he got he ended up with viral encephelitis (infection of the brain). He has seizures and memory loss as a result. In the past year, my sister has had them, the husband of a teacher that I work with (he is 24) and another friend's husband has had them. The last person has been fighting cancer for 3 years. He got them a few months ago. He has start halluciating and my friend knew from my experience that something was really wrong. I would get another opinion because this disease is dangerous. I don't know where you live but I would call a teaching hospital or a large hospital with an infectious disease department. A parent of a former student of mine just studies viruses at Children's Hospital in Washington DC. I would call that hospital or NIH to see if they can help. Please also see a neuologist. I can get you the phone numbers if you need them.

I am a little confused on this one. I was under the impression that you HAD to have already had the Chicken Pox in order to get shingles. I had the shingles several years ago and both my kids ended up getting the chicken pox from me having the shingles. I thought the virus from chicken pox is what causes shingles, and thats why you had to have already had them in order to get shingles. Maybe I misunderstood??? Also, shingles follows a line of nerve cells and usually forms what almost looks like a line, or cluster. I did scar from shingles. I have several scars on my back from when I had them. When I had them I was out of work for over a week, and it took almost a month for them to clear up.

Here is a really good web site on shingles, it should answer some of your question.

Information on Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia from Shinglesinfo.com

Hope your dd is doing better.

I had the Shingles when I was 8 or 9. The only thing I remember is that it really hurt, It felt like i was bruised all over very sensitive to the touch. My old doctor said that it was rare for children to get the shingles. I had to miss school for almost 3 weeks. I never had the chicken pox before I got the shingles either. But..... I am still alive and well. Poor kid though, I hope she gets over it quickly.

Read you have me totally freaked out now...

Cheyenne has never had the chicken pox, The Dr said more than likely she got the live virus shot for chicken pox ( Her baby shots ).. He said the live virus is just that it's a weaker chicken pox virus but it's the same virus one would have if they did have chicken pox...

None of these 4 kids still at home has ever had the pox, As a matter of fact they have never had ANY of the childhood illness.

Cheyenne attended public school for the last 9 months and Thursday was the last day of school for them. The rash/ blisters started that morning. However, the kids at school none had this rash nor has any of them came down with Chicken Pox ( It's only 2 classrooms total 36 4-5 year olds ) So she has not be expose to anyone from school with Chicken pox that had them. Nor has any child missed school with chicken pox this school year.

I'm totally clueless as to where she could have been expose to chicken pox virus in order to get the shingles...

That's why the doctor said she more than likely received the live virus in the shot..

kathylun, Thank- You for the link.
I read over and saw the pictures the pictures look just like whats on her arm.
The doctor said the rash is on the nerve endings of the C-5 spinal track. This is the same blister/ rash as what Cheyenne has on her arm and shoulder and fingers.
Symptoms of Shingles information at Shinglesinfo.com
The 1st picture is just like looking at hers.

I'm too am very confused because I also thought one had to have the chicken pox in order to get shingles. But I can't find out whether or not she did till Tuesday when the Ped opens . Monday is Holiday for them.

I'm really worried now over what Read has posted. I'm going to call my Aunt thats a nurse to see what she has to say about this, However, she's not a Ped so she might not even know..

Lord this is going to be a VERY long weekend/ Holiday for me.

Thanks everyone for all the help.Will update if I find anything else out.

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I am sorry if I scared you. It is just that I think people should know more about shingles including the doctors. At the website that was listed they don't have listed under the complications: encephalitis.
When this all happened with my dh 2 1/2 years ago, doctors could not identify encephalitis although he had been to the emergency room 3 times and in the hospital for 3 days. It was a phone call to our family doctor who really knew my husband and she knew that he had shingles 3 times before he was properly diagnosed. In the past 2 1/2 years he is better but like I said he has seizures at least 3 times a week (that is down from 4 or 5 a day), he has short term memory loss (he writes in a journal and we take pictures so that he remembers what he did yesterday, etc), his right side of his body is weak including permanent damage to his right eye. About 2 years ago we applied for disability with the government and he got it in 3 months ( most people it takes longer or they have to fight it with a lawyer). I have found little information about this complication of shingles and I have seen several people who have shingles and were young ( my dh was 53 when this all started). I thought of 2 other people that have had it. My friend's 30 year old daughter had it in her eye about 2 weeks ago. My dh's boss had it about 6 months before my dh got really sick. He was out of work for 6 months.

All I am saying is follow up with your doctor or a neoulogist to be sure she does not have any lasting effects from it. She should also be on an antiviral like Valtrax or Alicelvar (not sure of spelling). There is also a lidocaine patch 5% that can be put on the rash to help with the pain. Ask your doctor. If you have any other questions, please ask.

if she got thelive virus chicken pox, then in a sense, she was actually given a low dose of chicken pox, so to avoid a big outbreak. There is a definite test they can do for shingles. My son had them several mos. ago. Of course, he was undergoing chemo so had no immune system whatsoever. He was hospitalized because of his other issues. The Drs. said he is now more susceptilbe to get it in the future.

The difference between chickenpox and shingles is chickenpox itch and shingles burn, hurt or tingle.

I had shingles when I was 10. I remember how bad it hurt to this day. Mine went around my waist. I still have a scar on my back. In 1980, all they would do would say to put some kind of ointment on there that was for babies and wear a t-shirt. I can remember at night wearing nothing but a t-shirt since my panties would have rubbed the blisters. I bet she pox shot must have been like getting the chicken pox. This can very much give your DH chicken pox. I think I would probably have to boot him out of the bed though. She is probably feeling pretty rough.

When my DH had shingles, the doctor told him to take Benadryl to help him sleep. He still feels the pain from it from time to time and it has been over 10 years ago.

I hope that she feels better soon.

Thanks everyone for all the replies and links. Sorry I haven't been on today to reply back.The puppies brought fleas into the house and we had to set bombs out today to rid the den so I can at least walk in there and wash clothes w/o getting ate up. Weird because we have them on that flea pill
Any hoots,We have been cleaning off stuff from the bomb and I'm just now able to reply back.

Cheyenne's arm is crusting over today. There's still blisters in some spots but the Larger spot on her under side of the arm is crusted over. ( Hope thats a good sign to this ending ) My best friend had some cream (RX from when she had poison ivy , so we put some on Cheyenne's arm )...

I think we have this figured out where she came in contact with shingles.

OK back on May 3rd me. best friend, and best friends sister all went to New Orleans for 2 days. A day or 2 after we got back My best friend broke out with watery blisters on her wrist , leg and hand. She thought it was something called contact dermatitis ( Sorry dont know how to spell this )... It didn't get any larger just a spot here and a spot there. NOTHING LIKE CHEYENNE HAS..... Well today when I went by to tell her what the ER told me last night, I said Bonita you know this looks like the same blisters you had when we got back from New Orleans, Her sister said OMG Bonita it does.. Bonita felt about 1 inch tall when she heard us saying this then her DH came out to help wrap Cheyenne's arm and he too said Bonita the blisters look like the ones you have. So we all looked at her arm ( Still had a few spots with a rash/ red spot, But no blisters now.. So we *Think* maybe Bonita had a break out of Shingles and since we are always together DAILY,that Cheyenne might have came in contact with what Bonita has/ had.. So this might be how Cheyenne was exposed to this.
Poor Bonita is so upset over this she dont know what to say to me or Cheyenne, I tried to tell her she/ we didn't know, Not like she did this to be mean... So she's sitting on pins and needles till Tuesday when I can talk Cheyenne in to see her Ped and look at her shot record to see if she got the live virus shot.

Cheyenne is still complaining that it stings/ burns her and we have kept her arm wrapped all day long while we were gone to the park. Gave her a bath tonight OMG my baby cried the whole time saying it was stinging her ( the water touching her arm ).. I rubbed down her arm and shoulder with cream and wrapped it with a full bandage even covering her fingers this time ( She looks like a mummy LOL.)

She has agree to sleep in her bed tonight, ( But that will not last LOL. as soon as shes rested a little and wakes up she will join me in my bed. DH isn't worried about getting the Chicken Pox he said he's not sleeping anywhere else, if he gets it he gets it. Right now hes just worried about Cheyenne and whats wrong with her.( He's such a Great Daddy Plus Cheyenne is the APPLE of his eye )

I have called all my family to let them know about this since last weekend we all were together when I held a Craw-fish Boil for them. So they at least know whats to expect if they break out also.

Cheyenne is upset she cant go to Church in the morning, But we'll find something fun to do while the others are gone.

If her arm doesn't look any better by Monday I'm going to call her Ped and see if he will met me and the office to look at her arm . If everything goes well I should know whether or not this really is Shingles Tuesday... I'm going to ask if there's any testing he can do to may sure we are treating her correctly ( Shingles and nothing something else ).

My Nerves are about shot over all this. Lord with having 7 Children you would have thought I've seen it, Done it all with the kids, But this just proves you are never done with anything till its all been had ..
Again thanks everyone for all the help and links.

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I might be wrong but shingles are not contagious. Chicken pox is, shingles will make someone that has not gotten chicken pox get chicken pox but just having shingles will not give someone else shingles.

Tamara

my daughter had scarlet fever and this is what it sounds like. it is caused from not treating strept throat. I have never heard of a small child with shingles. I would want a second opinion. with scarlet fever at the end their hands and feet start to peel.

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When you don`t know what to do-Walk fast and look worried.

I'm so sorry you're going through this.

However, I will have to challenge the diagnosis. I had my first outbreak of shingles in 2004 on my leg, and my second outbreak in 2006 on my hand.

Shingles is the virus left in your spinal cord after a case of chicken pox. That virus can lay dormant in your body for the rest of your life, or it can resurface in a few different areas which run along the dermatome. Shingles will never cross the dermatome. But you must have chicken pox to have shingles. And you're right, usually people up in their 50's , 60's and 70's struggle with shingles, or people with compromised immune system. But you can be younger, I was just 43 when mine hit me. If you start on something like Valtrex within 48-72 hours of the outbreak, the timeline of recovering is better than if you do nothing.

It's a common misconception about how it is contagious or not contagious: you can get chicken pox from being around someone with an active case of shingles; you can't get shingles from someone else who has shingles or chicken pox. Shingles is a reoccurance of something dormant in your body. When I had my first outbreak in 2004, a few days later my middle son got chicken pox. My second outbreak in 2006, my youngest son got it from me.

Shingles are very painful, excrutiating even. Stress will make it worse. The duration of pain from shingles can be weeks, months, or can turn in to what I have which is called "Postherpetic neuralgia" and the pain is indefinate.

Exactly where is the rash?

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Okay, I am only 39 and had shingles about 5 years ago. It was horrible. I have had chicken pox. I work in the medical field and had NO idea what I had for several days. I was out of work for 3 weeks due to the fact I work with people who have compromised immune systems. If you have shingles you are contagious to anyone who has not had chicken pox or the shot for chicken pox. You are not contagious to anyone who has already had them. The incubation time for chicken pox is about 10 - 14 days. I can say this was the worst pain I've ever had. Mine was along my spinal cord on my back and my doctor couldn't believe I could stand the pain and said it was a pretty bad case. Anyway, you do NOT have to be exposed to someone to get shingles. That was what I had trouble figuring out. Your own system retriggers it from stress or low immune system. I wonder if the stress of school being out triggered hers. Anyway, I couldn't stand for ANYTHING to touch my back. I'm surprised she let you put the bandages on. Anyway, if they are crusting over, you are about done. Once they are all crusted over she will no longer be contagious. Hope your DH doesn't get the chicken pox from it.

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I am not one to question a trained physician's diagnosis; however, you might want to look at pictures of impetigo and of shingles on the web. While shingles can present itself along the arm and onto the hand, the fact that her little friend had a "rash" could be more than coincidence. Generally, impetigo is around the mouth/eyes; however, arms/hands/legs can become infected and she is certainly the right age group for impetigo. Neither diagnosis is the end of the world, but it will be good to get a definitive diagnosis.

I hope she gets to feeling better soon.

My 3rd DD had it when she was 5. The doctor said her's was from stress. We had alot of things go wrong in a 6 month span of time ~ we were in a car accident, my grandma died, my mom almost died, my brother had to have emergency surgery, and we had twins.

She had a very mild case of chicken poxes and this way she broke out with shingles.

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I had the shingles when I was 4 (I am 33 now). I remember having large clusters of bumps all around my torso, the medicine was sticky and it burned really badly when my mother put it on me. I do not have scars from it. Seems like I had it for at least two weeks. No one in our house caught the chicken pox from me having shingles, but I think that they had all already had the chicken pox before that. I have never had shingles again, but I know it could recur at some point. Like others have said, it is quite rare to get the shingles at a young age, but obviously not impossible. Hope she gets better soon.

How did it go at the doctor's office today?

Did you talk to the doctor? I was just wondering what your doctor said. I hope your daughter is feeling better.

Didcall the doctor. However, he said not to bring her in since all the blisters are now scabed over. Said nothing could be done at this late point anyways. The Nurse was suppose to look up Cheyenne's shot record and call me back. She never called..

Cheyenne's arm looks so much better. It looks kinda like a road rash sorta of. She has not been complaining of the stinging for 2 days now. ( Ever since the blister burst and started to scab.)

I have to take my 8 year old in the morning for testing for the gifted program ( All A student since he was in K-5 ) So when I drop him off in the morning I'm going to run to the Ped's office to get them to check the records for me.

Again Thanks so much everyone. (It's pretty scary to think a 4 year old could get shingles.)

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