Hi. I’m currently on sulphasalazine but hope to start Benepali in the next week or so. My 3 year old grandson has got chicken pox which is now starting to scab over. His 1 year old brother hasn’t shown any signs of having it yet. The question is am I ok to see them as I haven’t started biologics yet? 😳
Grandson has chicken pox and I have RA and due to sta... - NRAS
Grandson has chicken pox and I have RA and due to start a bio similar
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The general info is once the spots have scabbed over they're no longer contagious but the concern for you is two-fold, his brother whilst he doesn't have any signs yet may be harbouring chickenpox (he could be infectious for 2 days before spots appear) & you're about to start a biosimilar. I think you'd be wise to contact either the biologics nurse or your rheumy nurse to see if you're ok to commence it anyway, we're at more risk of course with our immune systems being as they are, it leaves us more open to catching things.
In general you can only catch chicken pox from chicken pox, so if you have already had those you should be good.
(You can also catch chickenpox from shingles, but not the other way round)
If you haven’t had chickenpox I’d stay well clear 🙈x
Thank you. I think I had chicken pox when I was little but I’ve no one to ask now sadly. X
I was always told to not have contact with anyone with chickenpox or anything that's contagious .lots of phone calls extra to them
Did you have screen g blood tests before going on list for Benepali? Usual procedure
Yes I did along with chest X-ray. That’s something I could ask although I don’t know if they’d be checking for anything like chicken pox antibodies. 😳
Mine checked. I think it's pretty standard to check for chicken pox. Always best to check with rheumo though. I've got my Benepali injections in fridge but can't start due to sinus infection