how long you have to stay away from ur new born if you had shingles 6 weeks before the baby is born?

Question

i am 34 weeks pregnant.my husband has got shingles 2 wks back.rightnow he is in Uk and i am in india.but he is coming in 3 weeks.Although his rashes have already dried up ,We are schared that the baby may contaract the infection from him .I also had chickenpox few years ago.my baby may be deliverd at week 38.Plz give me some help.how long should i have to stay away from my husband and is there any chance that our baby can contaract the infection.?

Answer 1

Chicken pox are NOT FUN. i have had them three times. The last time was about 3 years ago. I was working in a daycare with infancts and lo and behold... i got em.

Once the scabs have healed and crusted over and healed you are no longer in danger of passing the virus to another person. i was off work for about 2 weeks when the doctor gave me the OK to go back.

Once you have them, you can spread them for up to 13 days. It can be spread if you touch the fluid from the chickenpox blisters, or the saliva of a person who has chickenpox. The virus can get into your nose or mouth and make you sick.

It is safe to say, that when he does come home in 3 weeks... you all will be safe. so go ahead and give him a hug and kiss!

Happy pregnancy!

Answer 2

The fluid from the blisters is what spreads chicken pox to others so you're no longer contagious after the blisters scab over.

Shingles spreads the virus that causes chicken pox, so you CAN get chicken pox from someone who has shingles if you've never had them or the vaccine, but it's impossible to get shingles from someone with shingles. Since you've had chicken pox already, you'd be able to go around him anyway. And by the time the baby is born, it won't even be a reasonable concern.