Shingles in Children:
A Rare but Painful Reoccurrence of Chickenpox

Whether you get it in childhood or adulthood, chickenpox can make you sick both internally and externally. Along with a horrible, blistering rash, chickenpox also comes with fever, stomachache, headache, sore throat, and other miserable symptoms. The worst news is, after you heal from the chickenpox, this virus may come back for another round. This second eruption of chickenpox is called shingles, and while shingles is much more common in older adults, shingles in children is possible, too.

According to most studies, shingles in children accounts for about 5 percent of all shingles cases. Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for shingles, but shingles is most often diagnosed in people who are 50 and older. It is believed that shingles strikes people who have weaker immune systems, which would explain why the risk for shingles increases as people age. Shingles in children with weaker immune systems is also more common than shingles in children with strong immune systems. Another risk factor for shingles in children is if a child had chickenpox before the age of 1, or if the child’s mother had chickenpox while she was pregnant.

Shingles in children and adults is caused when the chickenpox virus lies dormant inside a person’s nervous system, often in the spinal cord. For reasons not completely understood, the virus reactivates into herpes zoster, the scientific name for the shingles virus. Shingles in children typically occurs after the child is more than 3 years old.

Shingles in children and adults causes a painful rash that follows the path of the infected nerves. The rash occurs on one side of the body, often on the chest, back, or abdomen. The rash from shingles in children begins as clusters of red bumps. Similar to chickenpox, shingles bumps turn into water blisters and then dry crusts. While it is claimed that shingles in children may be less painful than shingles in adults, the pain of shingles has been described as intense and unrelenting. Shingles in children is not accompanied by fever, nausea, or any other chickenpox symptoms.

New rashes caused by shingles in children may materialize for several days. Most or all the rash should dry up within 10 days. One major complication for shingles in children and adults is when it affects the eyes or nose, which requires immediate medical treatment. Otherwise, shingles in children can be treated with pain medication, excluding aspirin.

Children should stay home from school until the rash crusts over and also should avoid scratching or touching the shingles rash. Shingles in children is not contagious, but if a child has shingles, he or she may be able to transmit chickenpox to others. Unfortunately, the chickenpox vaccine has not been shown to prevent shingles in children.