Shingles During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a period when the expectant mother is filled with excitement for the new life growing inside her and also apprehensive about the health of the baby. Pregnant woman are prone to various health problems during the gestation period which might affect the baby. One such disease is shingles which is caused by the herpes zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox. It is said that when a person recovers from chickenpox, he/she becomes immune to this disease. However, the virus does not go away completely, rather it stays in the body to be triggered later in life. It usually affect aged people, especially after the age of 80. But it can also occur to young people with a weak immune system.

Unlike chickenpox, this disease is not contagious. If a pregnant woman, who has had chickenpox earlier comes in contact with a person who has had shingles, there are very less chances for her to get an infection. However, if the woman who is pregnant never had chickenpox and comes in contact with shingles virus, she is likely to develop chickenpox which is more dangerous.

Symptoms
Symptoms of this disease in pregnant women are similar to those manifested in any other person. When a person gets infected, he/she would find painful blisters on the skin, especially on the legs, arms and body. Before these start appearing on the skin, one may experience burning sensation and pain on several parts of the skin.

Complications
It can put a pregnant woman into a huge risk of getting inflicted by other diseases because the immune system becomes weak. The effect of this disease on the fetus depends on the stage of pregnancy that it occurred. It is said that, during early pregnancy i.e during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, this disease can cause some problems to the health of the child.

Children of pregnant women with this infection are at a great risk of having congenital defects syndrome. However, experts are of the opinion that these cases are very rare and more than the child, it is the mother who is at risk of getting infected by some other diseases, if she is diagnosed with shingles. If shingles affects the mother after 24 weeks of gestation, the baby is relatively safe from major complications, however, the mother has to be treated so that she does not have any other health problems. If treatment is not given at the correct time, the most dangerous disease that can occur is varicella pneumonitis (pneumonia) which is life-threatening to the mother and the child. If shingles occurs on the face, it may affect the ears and eyes leading to permanent loss of hearing and sight.

Treatment
Pregnant women who are affected by this disease are prescribed anti-viral drugs like valacyclovir, famciclovir and acyclovir. Along with these drugs, she would also be given certain pain killers and ointment to be applied on the rash. These rashes disappear completely in 3-4 weeks, however the pain persists for a long time. Though there are a variety of measures used to subdue the pain, one may have to live with it for some time as it is said to be difficult to cure quickly.

This disease is surely a matter of concern and the pregnant woman should be treated immediately to avoid further complications. However, according to several experts, very few cases have been reported where the fetus have been affected by shingles. Nevertheless, if a pregnant woman shows any symptoms of shingles, it would be beneficial to notify the doctor for the safety of the mother and the unborn child.