I never had chickenpox

Can you get shingles vaccine if you never had chickenpox? Can I be reinfected with chickenpox? From the WebMD Archives. Chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus. Shingrix recommended for everyone age and older, whether or not you remember having had chickenpox.

I heard that people should not get the shingles vaccine if they never had chickenpox.

Would it give them chickenpox? Even if they don’t remember having had chickenpox, they should still get the shingles vaccine—it wouldn’t give them chickenpox. CDC recommends two doses of chickenpox vaccine for children, adolescents, and adults who have never had chickenpox and were never vaccinated. Children are routinely recommended to receive the first dose at age through months and the second dose at age through years. People years of age or older should get shingles vaccine (Zostavax).

They should get the vaccine whether or not they recall having had chickenpox, which is caused by the same virus as shingles. Studies show that more than of Americans aged and older have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember getting the disease. According to her co-host Whoopi Goldberg, Walters has never had chicken pox before.

The news raised questions about how likely adults are to get chicken pox and how chicken pox is related to a condition that’s more common among adults, shingles.

The answer is, as with all medical questions, not easy to give. Generally speaking, you cannot get shingles from a person who is infected with chickenpox, even though you’ve never had chickenpox in your life. A person with shingles can typically spread the varicella-zoster virus to someone who has never had chickenpox. This is because if a person has had chickenpox , they usually have antibodies against.

There are people who go their whole lives without ever developing chicken pox , even those who have never had the vaccine, and have been around siblings and friends who got the illness. Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. However, a person who has never had chickenpox (or chickenpox vaccine) could get chickenpox from someone with shingles.

If you have never had chickenpox , then the chances that you will get shingles is much less. However, if you have never had chickenpox then you are not immune to the virus and thus are more susceptible of getting a primary infection. Almost everyone who has never had chickenpox should receive the vaccine, which is safe and nearly effective, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Exceptions include pregnant women and people who have weakened immune systems or certain allergies. If I never had chicken pox , do I need a shingles vaccine? If you have had chickenpox , there would be no need to get the shingles vaccine unless this is common practise in your region. They may recommend a blood test to help them determine. Although chickenpox vaccines do contain a weakened version of the live virus, which can reactivate later in life and cause shingles, this is very rare, he said.

You can unsubscribe at any time. As such, shingles in itself is not contagious to those of us who have had chicken pox , the vaccination for chicken pox , or the vaccination for shingles. Should you get a chicken pox vaccine if you never had the disease as a child?

DEAR DOCTOR K: I have never had chickenpox. Do I still need to get a shingles vaccine? DEAR READER: Not everyone knows the connection between chickenpox (a childhood disease) and shingles (a condition that usually hits adults). It is possible to have a blood test for antibodies to the chickenpox virus to confirm immunity.

Therefore, people who have not had chickenpox can catch chickenpox if they have close contact with a person who has shingles. If you are not immune, consider being vaccinated. However, you can not catch shingles itself from someone else. Shingles are caused by the chickenpox virus which has been dormant (staying quiet) in your body ever since you had chickenpox.

Most vaccinated people will not get chickenpox. My year old daughter has never had the Chicken Pox. Also, she has never been vaccinated against it. Yes, despite coming into contact with the highly contagious disease, I’ve never had chickenpox. Even though I’ve been exposed to the virus multiple times, courtesy of my three children.

Maybe I’ve just had a subclinical infection?