Is shingles contagious?See also our main page on skin rash. Show
What is shingles?Shingles is caused by the re-activation of the varicella zoster herpes virus, which is also the virus that causes chickenpox. Once you have had chickenpox the virus remains dormant in your body within a single sensory nerve. It can become active again at any time but particularly when your immunity is low. Your immunity or ability to fight infection may be lowered by several things including old age, stress, illness, injury, chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS or after organ transplantation.
SymptomsThe first symptom is often sensitivity, tingling, itching or pain in a band on one side of the body. Any part of the body can be affected although most commonly the trunk, face and even eyes. The rash then appears on the area of skin supplied by the affected nerve. You may also experience a headache, fever and feel generally unwell. Initially the rash looks red and blotchy and then it will blister looking similar to chickenpox. New blisters may continue to appear for up to a week and gradually the lesions will scab over. It usually takes 2-4 weeks for the rash to resolve. Some people may get some pain continuing in the area once the rash has resolved and this is called postherpetic neuralgia and is caused by damage to the nerve fibres in question. So, is shingles contagious?Many people think that shingles is contagious, however, if you have had chickenpox you cannot catch shingles from someone else who has shingles. If you have never had chickenpox or have not received the chickenpox vaccine you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles. Covering the rash with clothing or some sort of dressing, and maintaining strict personal hygiene will decrease the risk of spreading infection to others. If you have shingles you are contagious until the lesions are all scabbed over, which is usually 10-14 days. If you have shingles you should avoid contact with anyone who hasn’t had chickenpox, especially pregnant women, people with a weak immune system and very young babies as they are at risk of catching chickenpox. TreatmentKeep the rash clean and dry. Calamine lotion may be soothing. Pain relief may be needed. Antiviral medications (aciclovir tablets/creams) are sometimes prescribed but should ideally be started within 24-72 hours after the onset of the rash. A vaccination is now available to prevent shingles. Tags: contagious, shingles, skin rash Chickenpox is common and mostly affects children, but you can get it at any age. It usually gets better by itself after 1 to 2 weeks without needing to see a GP. An itchy, spotty rash is the main symptom of chickenpox. It can be anywhere on the body. Chickenpox happens in 3 stages. But new spots can appear while others
are becoming blisters or forming a scab. The spots can: Detailed image description, image 1 This is a close-up image of white skin with stage 1 chickenpox spots. You cannot tell what part of the body is being
shown. There are 10 spots that vary in size, but they're all less than 1cm. Some spots are close to others. Some spots are raised and appear to be forming a round or slightly oval blister. Other spots are flatter. The spots are red and pink and the skin around the spot is pink. Detailed image description, image 2 This image shows light brown skin with stage 1 chickenpox spots. There are more than 40 spots covering a child's chest. Some spots are close to others. The spots are red or
pink. Some appear to be raised in the centre and are beginning to form a blister, while other spots appear flat.
Detailed image description, image 3 This image shows light brown skin with stage 1 chickenpox spots. The image is of a person's tummy and includes 3 of their fingers at the upper left edge of the image. The
skin on their hand is dark brown. There are about 50 spots which vary in size, but they're all less than 1cm. Some spots are close to others. The larger spots are pink. Some of the smaller spots are the same colour as the person's skin tone. Some spots are raised and appear to be forming a round or oval blister in the centre. Other spots are flatter. The spots
fill with fluid and become blisters. The blisters are very itchy and may burst. Detailed image description, image 1 This is a close-up image showing white skin with stage 2 chickenpox spots. You cannot tell what part of the body is being shown. There are 13 spots which vary in size, but they're all less than 1cm. Some spots are close to others. Almost all the spots have formed a round or slightly oval blister. 1 spot
appears to be flatter. The blisters are pink and shiny. The skin around some spots appears slightly pink.
Detailed image
description, image 2 This image shows light brown skin with stage 2 chickenpox spots. There are more than 50 chickenpox spots covering a child's chest and upper arms. The spots vary in size, but they're all less than 1cm. Many of the spots have formed a round or slightly oval shaped raised blister. Many of the blisters are white and shiny. The skin around some of the blisters is pink. A few of the blisters appear to have burst and have formed dark
scabs.
Detailed image description, image 3 This image shows medium brown skin with stage 2 chickenpox spots. There are about 40 spots on a person's forehead. The spots vary in size from around 3mm to 6mm. Some spots are close to others. Many have formed a round or slightly oval shaped raised blister. Some spots appear
slightly flatter. Some blisters are the same colour or slightly paler than the person's skin tone, while others are slightly pink. Some blisters appear shiny and slightly white or grey.
Detailed image description image 4
This image shows dark brown skin with stage 2 chickenpox spots. There are about 50 spots on a person's back and arm. The spots vary in size from around 5mm to 1cm. Some spots are close to others. Many of the spots have formed a round or slightly oval shaped raised blister. Some of the blisters appear to have burst and some may be forming a scab. Most blisters are the same colour, or slightly darker, than the person's skin tone. Some blisters appear
shiny and slightly white or grey. The spots form a scab. Some scabs are flaky while others leak fluid.
Detailed image description image 1 This is a close-up image of white skin with stage 3 chickenpox
spots. You cannot tell which part of the body is being shown. There are about 14 spots which vary in size from around 1mm to 1cm. Some spots are close together. Some of the larger spots are raised and have a scab over them. Some scabs look soft and seem to have fluid under them. 2 of the scabs appear to have collapsed in the centre. The scabs are yellow and pink and the skin around the scabs is pink. The smaller spots look like tiny pink blisters.
Detailed image description image 2 This image shows light brown skin with stage 3 chickenpox spots. There are about 25 spots on a person's upper back. Some spots are 1cm to 3cm apart, some are further apart. Most spots are flat, less than 5mm, and have dark red scabs. The skin around many of the scabs appears pink.
Detailed image description image 3 This image shows medium brown skin with stage 3
chickenpox spots. The spots cover the lower part of a person's back and the side of their hip. There are about 50 spots in total, varying in size from about 1mm to 1cm. Some are 1cm to 3cm apart, but others are further apart. Most of the spots have scabs over them. The scabs vary in colour from pink and purple to grey. There are also a few spots without scabs, which look like small blisters. These are slightly darker in colour than the surrounding skin. Before or after the rash appears, you might also get: Chickenpox is very itchy and can make children feel miserable, even if they do not have many spots. The chickenpox spots
look the same on children and adults. But adults usually have a high temperature for longer and more spots than children. It's possible to get chickenpox more than once, but it's unusual. Check other rashes in children You'll need to stay away from school, nursery or work until all the spots have formed a scab. This is usually 5 days after the spots appeared. Do
Don’t
Non-urgent advice: Speak to a GP if:
Tell the receptionist you think it might be chickenpox before going in to a GP surgery. Urgent advice: Get advice from 111 now if:
Some people may be able to take medicine to prevent complications. It needs to be started within 24 hours of the spots appearing. 111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one. Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111. It's easy to catch chickenpoxYou can catch chickenpox by being in the same room as someone with it. It's also spread by touching things that have fluid from the blisters on them. When chickenpox can be spreadYou can spread chickenpox to other people from 2 days before your spots appear until they have all formed scabs – usually 5 days after your spots appeared. How soon you get symptoms after catching chickenpoxThe spots start appearing around 1 to 3 weeks after you caught chickenpox. Chickenpox in pregnancyMost people get chickenpox during childhood, so it's rare to get chickenpox when you're pregnant. If you do get chickenpox when you're pregnant, there's a small risk of your baby being very ill when it's born. Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111 if you have not had chickenpox before and you've been near someone with it. The chickenpox vaccineYou can get the chickenpox vaccine on the NHS if there's a risk of harming someone with a weakened immune system if you spread the virus to them. For example, a child can be vaccinated if 1 of their parents is having chemotherapy. You can also pay for the vaccine at some private clinics or travel clinics. It costs between £120 and £200. Shingles and chickenpoxYou cannot catch shingles from someone with chickenpox. You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox before. When you get chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. The virus can be triggered again if your immune system is weak. This causes shingles. This can happen because of stress, certain conditions, or treatments like chemotherapy. Page last reviewed: 12 November 2021 Is it OK to be around someone with shingles?Answer: Shingles cannot spread from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles (varicella-zoster virus) can spread from a person with active shingles to someone who is not immune to chickenpox (most people have had a chickenpox infection or vaccinated against chickenpox).
How long does it take to get chickenpox from someone with shingles?It takes about 2 weeks (from 10 to 21 days) after exposure to a person with chickenpox or shingles for someone to develop chickenpox.
Can you catch shingles or chickenpox from someone with shingles?You cannot get shingles from someone with shingles or chickenpox. But you can get chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox before. When people get chickenpox, the virus remains in the body. It can be reactivated later and cause shingles if someone's immune system is lowered.
Can I touch my baby if I have shingles?Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another and cannot be spread to an infant through breast milk.
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Can you catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles
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