My 5yr old boy has just been diagnosed as having Shingles.
He has two clusters of ‘red bumps’ which look very much like insect bites and itch just the same. One cluster is on his right shoulder and the other on his left buttock.
Thus, a myth exploded! The myth is that Shingles only appears on a single part on the body.
Fortunately for children, they do not experience the same debilitating and painful symptoms that adults with shingles experience. There is no outward indication of a virus other than the appearance of the itchy rash.
I have kept my son’s itching under control with prescribed aqueous callamine cream. The itching is not severe enough for an anti-histamine product.
A great resource for finding out why shingles in children occurs, how contagious it is (or rather isn’t) and how to treat it etc. can be found here:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_shingles_hhg.htm
The source indicates that Shingles is only contagious if you make contact with the rash itself and even then only to people who have not yet contracted chicken pox. Shingles is worse for adults and can reoccur more than once. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women and as such anyone with Shingles should avoid contact.
Shingles is apparently caused by the already contracted chicken pox virus which then lies dormant in the system and reawakens (perhaps during times of low immunity, stress or ill health) as Shingles.
As stated, Shingles in children is usually without any other symptom aside from the appearance of the rash (which may leave scars) and itching. BUT if the rash is near the eyes or nose then medical attention should be sought immediately.
For adults with Shingles or adults worried about contracting Shingles, a great source of information is here:
http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/shingles.html
All the above aside, some people dispute the medical opinion re how Shingles is contracted. Some believe that the chicken pox vaccine itself is responsible for an increase of Shingles in children. I am not aware of the details of this or how valid their concerns are. Neither of my children had this vaccine and both contracted chicken pox the regular way….from their friends without any serious consequence.
Meanwhile, as to how to treat Shingles in children.
Keep them off school for 7 days is the Doctors advice (to me) and away from pregnant women and other children without their parents consent.
My Doctor also suggested it was unlikely any of the family would ‘catch’ the Shingles from my son, but said it was possible. That is despite the fact we’ve all had chicken pox and the advice on the sources suggests we cannot ‘catch’ Shingles as Shingles is a dormant virus which if it appears, it’s appears as a result of our own virus not someone elses!
I don’t know who is right, but in light of the contradictory advice, caution is recommended.
My advice is to apply cream to your child with Shingles while wearing a surgical glove or let them apply the cream themselves under your strict supervision.
Issue them with their own towel and don’t allow any sharing of towels until the virus has cleared.
Avoid cuddling you child, sharing eating appliances and definitely do not touch that rash!
These are my tips not those recommended by the medical profession, but they can’t hurt any!
Edit: After having Googled for pictures of Shingles in children I am doubting my child has shingles afterall! I think they are insect bites which may explain why they appear in more than one place on his body. But I will exercise caution in any case.
Pics of Shingles (from the web) in children