Question 1

can shingles during pregnancy be harmful to the baby?

Accepted Answer

Doubt any effect: Shingles is essentially the emergence of a hibernating virus from nerve clusters along the inside of your spine. It travels out the nerve, like a canoe paddling down river to the skin, where pt causes pain & blisters that contain the reactivated virus. To affect baby it would need to enter the blood & pass thru the placenta. This is not a feature of shingles.

Question 2

what is a safe way to treat shingles during pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

Valtrex (valacyclovir) for 7 days: Shingles is when dormant chickenpox virus reactivates and causes painful blisters on limited areas of your skin. It will often appear with pregnancy and other immunocompromised states. Shingles is not dangerous to your unborn baby. The best treatment is oral Valtrex (valacyclovir) for seven days. Valtrex is a prescription drug and is felt to be safe to take in pregnancy.

Question 3

i recently had shingles. what can i take during my pregnancy to minimize the transmission of the virus to my baby?

Accepted Answer

Not necessary: Shingles are a skin eruption caused by the chicken pox virus that you likely contracted in childhood.  The virus is present in the nerve root supplying the skin area where the eruption occurs.  With normal immunity you will also have circulating antibody to the virus that will be protective for the neonate.  If you have a suppressed immune system, you should consult your doctor.

Question 4

is shingles dangerous for 9 week pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

Probably not...: Unlike chicken pox, herpes zoster doesn't seem to be related to problems with the baby.

Question 5

i had shingles on my 1st pregnancy and i got miscarriage, we are trying to conceive again, is it possible that i might get shingles again?

Accepted Answer

Rare: Around 1%. Talk to your doctor about the zoster vaccine which would help prevent another outbreak even more. Good luck.

Question 6

can stress cause a lengthy period? i'm 17 and had shingles back in august. i have protected sex with condoms every time. i'm having a three week period this month and a negative hpt. am i in the clear for pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

No:  You could certainly be pregnant condoms are not hundred percent effective recheck your pregnancy test every few days until you have a normal.Menses .many things can affect your menstrual period hormones thyroid disorders stress infections. Seen OB/GYN physician for specific diagnosis and treatment for your condition

Question 7

is acyclovir safe to take in first month of pregnancy? i had herpes zoster mild took acyclovir 5 times a day for 5 days 800mg.im now pregnant?

Accepted Answer

Probably fine: Acyclovir is technically pregnancy category c, meaning formal studies on the affect on human pregnancies have not been done. There is some data in the literature that shows no risk. But it is still not widely recommended. That being said, if the risk outweighs the benefits then one should be treated. Please discuss this with your OB doc.

Question 8

can pregnancy cause herpes zoster ophthalmicus to come back in my cornea? i heard stress can cause it to come back.

Accepted Answer

It can: Pregnancy can depress your immune system and allow zoster to resurface. Look out for eye pain, redness, changes in vision, or rash / vesicles. That said, if you are otherwise healthy and without HIV/AIDS, cancer, or use of steroids, pregnancy alone should not elevate your risk of shingles much more than a normal host.

Question 9

i had very mild herpes zoster just 8 blisters and i am cured now my pregnancy test is positive now after 5 days of medicine .can it affect the fetus ?

Accepted Answer

Zoster: It should not affect the fetus.  It is a reactivation of the virus that you have had since chicken pox (or the vaccine) in your youth.  With shingles (zoster), the virus does not travel through the blood stream - it travels locally down a nerve and to the skin.  If anything it will boost your immunity to shingles/chicken pox during pregnancy.

Question 10

how can i avoid toxic exposure during pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

Helpful Guides: Common sense is our best guide to controlling what we expose our bodies and our children's to in our environment, like food (mercury in fish), alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.  Beyond that their our resources:

http://www.Womenshealthfremont.Com/webdocuments/medications-in-pregnancy.Pdf

teratogen hot-line: (800) 532-3749.

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Doctor answers about:

Shingles exposure during pregnancy

A member asked:

Can shingles during pregnancy be harmful to the baby?

A member asked:

What is a safe way to treat shingles during pregnancy?

A member asked:

I recently had shingles. what can i take during my pregnancy to minimize the transmission of the virus to my baby?

A member asked:

Is shingles dangerous for 9 week pregnancy?

A member asked:

I had shingles on my 1st pregnancy and i got miscarriage, we are trying to conceive again, is it possible that i might get shingles again?

A member asked:

Can stress cause a lengthy period? i'm 17 and had shingles back in august. i have protected sex with condoms every time. i'm having a three week period this month and a negative hpt. am i in the clear for pregnancy?

A member asked:

Is acyclovir safe to take in first month of pregnancy? i had herpes zoster mild took acyclovir 5 times a day for 5 days 800mg.im now pregnant?

A member asked:

Can pregnancy cause herpes zoster ophthalmicus to come back in my cornea? i heard stress can cause it to come back.

A member asked:

I had very mild herpes zoster just 8 blisters and i am cured now my pregnancy test is positive now after 5 days of medicine .can it affect the fetus ?

A member asked:

How can i avoid toxic exposure during pregnancy?

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