pmr and chicken pox. will i be affected by chicke... - PMRGCAuk
pmr and chicken pox. will i be affected by chickenpox i look after a little person wwho i think may have chicken pox. i am on 15mg pred dail
I've just posted this reply on another forum - I'm putting it here for completeness for everyone who's interested to see:
Did you have chicken pox yourself as a child? If you did you should be OK in terms of chicken pox itself - the risk when on pred is for people who have never had it and they can catch it. As an adult chicken pox can be nasty and being on pred can make that even worse. Once you have had chicken pox it is very unlikely you would get it again - although it is possible (never say never!).
What is possible is that it could trigger a case of shingles. After having chicken pox the virus can remain dormant in the nerve endings and then, much later in life, something can wake it up and shingles develops. Whether the body meeting the virus again is enough to do that no one really knows.
So, on that basis, if you HAVEN'T had chicken pox before - straight off to the doctor to see what he says. There are a couple of options. If you have had it, keep an eye out for any symptoms of shingles - and straight to the doctor if any appear - even any suggestion of it. If caught quickly there are ways of making it much less unpleasant by giving you anti-viral drugs. But that means in the first 24 hours after the symptoms appear - so a visit/phone call now, well in advance, to find out what your GP thinks is a good idea.
Hello yevrah
Well I had chickenpox as a child and caught it years later from my son AND I still succumbed to shingles whilst on steroids, so, as PMRpro has said, "never say never"! At least you are aware so will recognise it immediately if it should arrive and get in fast with the anti-virals so easing the symptoms and shortening the duration. Good luck!
hi celtic and pmrpro i have spoken to my doctor who gave me less advice than either of you have and i think i have to go with the "the never say never" i am not sure if they just dont listen or just dont here anything i same to them, Very, Very frustrating. one thing for sure i have learnt more on this site than any doctor has been able to tell me. the doctor just seems in such a hurry to get me off the pred asap never mind the discomfort that i am in, so i think its time that i take a stand and if i know that dropping 5mg at a time is too much for body i am going to say so. thank you very much for your replies they are much appreciated
