Your guide to shingles in pregnancy

If you’re pregnant, you may have heard worrying stories about a condition called shingles and the effect it can have on your pregnancy.

But you shouldn’t worry too much. Although shingles can be unpleasant, it is usually pretty harmless and shingles in pregnancy presents very little threat to you and your baby.

Here’s the lowdown on the condition and what you need to know about shingles in pregnancy:

What is shingles?

Shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash, which usually appears on your chest and tummy, but can also pop up on your face, eyes and genitals.

The first signs of shingles are a tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin, a headache, or feeling generally unwell. The rash then appears a few days later and is often painful and described as burning, stabbing or itching.

A shingles rash appears as red blotches on your skin, on just one side of your body only (a rash on both sides of your body is unlikely to be shingles) which then become itchy blisters that ooze fluid. New blisters can appear for up to a week, after which the blisters dry out and scab over.

It can take up to four weeks for the rash to heal, and your skin can be painful for weeks after the rash has gone, but it usually settles over time. 

How do you get shingles?

You can only get shingles if you have already had chickenpox. The same virus - the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) - causes both illnesses and after you’ve had chickenpox it can stay in your body and become active again in the form of shingles.  This can happen at any time after chickenpox – even many years later – and can be more likely to occur if you are stressed or have other medical conditions or treatment, such as chemotherapy, which cause a weakened immune system.

Should I avoid shingles exposure in pregnancy?

You cannot get shingles from someone else. However, you can get chickenpox from someone who has shingles, if you haven’t had chickenpox before. So, although shingles exposure in pregnancy presents no danger if you’ve already had chickenpox, you must stay away from anyone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox.

The risk is low, particularly if the shingles rash is covered - for example, by clothing or a dressing – but you can get chickenpox by touching someone’s open shingles blisters. This is because the virus is shed from oozing blisters and the person with shingles continues to be infectious until the last blister has scabbed, which is usually 10-14 days after the rash appears. If a person with shingles has a weakened immune system they are considered infectious even if the rash is covered. This is because their body may release more virus than a person whose immune system is working normally.

In short, if you’ve had chickenpox, there is no danger from shingles contact in pregnancy. If you haven’t had chickenpox, to be 100% safe you should stay away from anyone with shingles, or chickenpox.  

Equally, if you have shingles or chickenpox, you should avoid any pregnant women who have not had chickenpox before, as well as people with a weakened immune system – e.g. someone having chemotherapy – and babies less than 1 month old (unless it's your child, as your own immune system should protect them from the virus.)

Is shingles in pregnancy dangerous?

Shingles in pregnancy is usually mild and presents no risk to you or your baby.

How is shingles treated?

Your doctor or midwife will give you advice on how to treat shingles. If it’s a particularly bad case, then you may need antiviral treatment.

But shingles in pregnancy is normally best treated at home. Here’s some things you can do to ease the symptoms:

• Take paracetamol for the pain
• Keep the rash clean and dry to reduce the risk of infection
• Use a non-adherent dressing (one that will not stick to the rash)  to cover the blisters – and avoid passing the virus on to anyone else
• Wear loose-fitting clothing
• Apply a cool compress (such as a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel, or a wet cloth) to the rash a few times a day. Don’t share any cloths or towels when you have shingles.

When should I seek medical advice for shingles in pregnancy?

You should contact your GP or midwife immediately - or call NHS 111 - if you develop any kind of rash when you're pregnant. This includes a rash that develops after contact with someone who has shingles or chickenpox.