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Arrrrgh chicken pox!!

So one of my colleagues kiddo has the chicken pox and she isn't feeling well herself - she's currently freezing cold wearing lots of jackets in July! She's had it twice before herself so not immune it would seem. Of course I didn't realise this until she'd already breathed on me [emoji24]

I've called the GP surgery and I'm going in for urgent bloods today, and then a follow up with a doctor in the morning. Should I stop taking the azathioprine? I'm not panicking (honest) just wondering if anyone has experience of this and what is best to do? We're not close to each other in the office but we've been in the same room a couple of feet apart this morning while chatting about the weekend etc.

Any pointers very welcome!!
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Ds was on 6-mp when he was exposed to shingles (family member)
So high risk of exposure.
They did bloodwork and just watched him at home
No signs at all

But he has had the vaccine prior for chicken pox

Did you ever had chicken pox or get the vaccine ?
 
Thank you both! I did have them when I was younger and haven't had the vaccine as far as I'm aware. My Dad caught them from me as a kid and got really nasty shingles so I'm just a tad nervous, although I don't know that there's necessarily a genetic link with immunity? I've just come back from the blood Test so I'll see what they say when I go back.

I'm just halfway through the website link you posted, really interesting! Thanks again :)
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Shingles isn't from re exposure
It's from chicken pox virus as a kid that lays dormant for years in your system
Until it's weaker
Then appears

That said if you haven't had chicken pox and are exposed to shingles then the person could get chicken pox (not shingles )

Having a normal case of chicken pox tends to give immunity. In most
Mild cases can not be as effective
 

Scipio

Well-known member
Location
San Diego
If you had chicken pox as a kid and developed the normal immunity that most people get, then there is very low risk that you have lost that immunity due to azathioprine. The main infection risk from immunosuppressants is from exposure to new pathogens.
 
You should be immune because you had chicken pox as a child. Have you gotten the shingles vaccine? My GI and GP wanted me to get that one and the pneumovax vaccine when I was first diagnosed. It's very unusual to get actual chicken pox more then once, so hopefully you'll be just fine.
 
Oki doki, thanks all. Although I've had it as a child I was still told to get in touch if exposed so I hope I've done the right thing?

I've never had the shingles vaccine as far as I'm aware, is that given routinely or only in special cases?

I know it's the case the majority of the time that if you had it as a child you can't get it again but I know quite a few people who have! Maybe we're just lucky where I live lol.

I'm sure I'll be fine, I just freaked when she told me as we'd been very close together for a few minutes before she even mentioned it. I tried to find more info online but nothing went into detail, just advising you speak to your doctor as soon as exposed. That'll be me labelled as a hypochondriac at the GP's for the next few months ;-)
 
Hi all

Just an update in case anyone comes here in future. The GP I saw called the microbiologist on call who said there's need to worry unless "we were having skin to skin contact and cuddling up for an extended period of time" which made me giggle.

The GP then called me back a bit later to say that the microbiologist called him back having changed his mind and wanted me to get an injection of immunoglobulin just to be safe. This had to be ordered from a lab so would take a day or so to arrive.

In this interim the colleague in question came back into the office to pick up some work, and had been to the doctors who confirmed it was shingles rather than chicken pox. At this point I hadn't heard back from the GP so decided to call, but the jab hadn't arrived and it was the GP's day off.

Today I received a call but missed it and no voicemail was left. When I rang the practice back they said there was a note to say that microbiology had changed their minds again and decided it wasn't needed after all.

So there we go, I have no idea why the back and forth, but that's the verdict as of today!
 
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