Incubation period in the baby | Incubation period of shingles

Incubation period in the baby

Since shingles is a reactivation of a chickenpox infection, it is extremely rare for babies to develop shingles, but it cannot be completely ruled out. If the mother falls ill with chickenpox for the first time in the course of pregnancy, it is possible that the shingles-typical rashes will already appear in babies within the first few months if the child suffers from an immune deficiency. However, if the mother develops shingles during pregnancy after having been infected or vaccinated with chickenpox as a child, the occurrence of shingles in her baby is unlikely.

Children, on the other hand, can get shingles if they only have partial immunity to the disease, for example due to suppression of the immune system, or if the child has suffered a varicella infection in the mother’s abdomen. The symptoms then resemble those of adults; here too, there is severe pain and rashes, which typically occur only in the course of a peripheral nerve (so-called headcheese zone). The disease usually has a benign course.