How long is shingles contagious?

Question

a lady at my new job had shingles last week. She is supposed to train me on Tues. Is she still contagious? I need to know for sure, because we share phones and stuff behind a desk. I've had chicken pox when i was a kid, but still. Also my 5 year old hasn't had chicken pox and i don't want to bring something home to her. So after a week of her getting shingles, is she contagious?

Answer 1

Herpes zoster (or simply zoster), commonly known as shingles, is a viral disease characterised by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe. The initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes the acute (short-lived) illness chickenpox, and generally occurs in children and young people. Once an episode of chickenpox has resolved, the virus is not eliminated from the body but can go on to cause shingles—an illness with very different symptoms—often many years after the initial infection.

The rash and pain usually subside within 3 to 5 weeks. Many patients develop a painful condition called postherpetic neuralgia, which is often difficult to manage. In some patients, herpes zoster can reactivate subclinically, with pain in a dermatomal distribution without rash.

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles, VZV, can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has no immunity to the virus by direct contact with the rash, while in the blister phase. The person exposed would then develop chicken pox, not shingles. The virus is not spread through airborne transmission, such as sneezing or coughing. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious. A person is not infectious before blisters appear or with post-herpetic neuralgia (pain after the rash is gone).-

Answer 2

Shingles are contagious in certain circumstances. Shingles can be spread from the infected person to children or adults who have never had chickenpox. But, instead of developing shingles, the people who have not had chickenpox will develop chickenpox. Once these people have had chickenpox, they too have the potential to contract shingles later on in their lifetime.

Shingles are contagious when there are new blisters forming and old blisters healing. Once all the blisters have crusted over, the virus can no longer be spread.

Answer 3

Although the VZV virus that causes chickenpox and shingles disease can spread through the direct contact of any healthy person (who never had chickenpox in his/her life) with the open wounds/rashes/blisters of the patient suffering from shingles disease, Shingles is not a fully contagious disease.

A healthy person can never develop Shingles disease after he/she comes in informal contact (not involving much of physical contact, or a direct contact with the rash) with the patient suffering from Shingles, or sneezing or coughing of patient when the healthy person is in vicinity. The only phase when this disease is contagious is when the patient has developed blisters with clear fluid and the rash covering the blisters has not developed crusts.  

Answer 4

until the last crust falls