Pregnancy is a special period in a woman’s life, during which there is a need to avoid specific foods and activities, as well as be aware of and try prevent infection with various viruses that may harm the fetus.
While some viruses won’t cause any harm to a child or adult, others may cause severe health and developmental problems in a fetus or newborn baby with a compromised immune system.
I’d like to focus on the Varicella zoster virus (VZV). Wait, perhaps you’re more familiar with the chickenpox virus? Well, in actual fact, it is exactly the same virus. This virus causes both shingles and chickenpox. This first phase of this virus is chickenpox, whereas the second phase is always shingles. In between the two phases the virus establishes a lifelong latent infection.
So in a matter of fact, when the immune system is weakened, for instance in case of chemotherapy, AIDS, in neonates or during a post transplant treatment, the VZV virus can reactivate and awaken from a latent state, causing the disease known as shingles as well as other, serious complications .
An infection with VZV during the first 28 weeks of the pregnancy increases the risk of damage to the eyes, legs, arms, brain, bladder or bowel in 1%-2% of the babies .
Therefore, it is very important that women who aren’t sure that they have had chickenpox must avoid anyone with the infection. It is important to note that pregnant women who have already had chickenpox do not need to avoid contact, because they have already been immunized against the virus .
I bet your next question might be, can I catch shingles or chickenpox from a person who has shingles? Well, you can catch chickenpox from being exposed to a person with shingles if you have not had chickenpox yourself. However, you cannot catch shingles from a person with chickenpox, or catch shingles from a person with shingles. As I noted above, Shingles is a later phase of the chickenpox.
In some cases, women may be unsure whether they have been infected with the virus in the past or not. So then, how should they know whether to be careful or not? Well, they can ask their GP for a blood test that check immunity to the virus.
But hold on, what about treatment for chickenpox?
Turns out there is an effective vaccine that is administered during childhood in certain countries such as USA, Canada and Australia .
In addition to the vaccine there are antiviral pills such as aciclovir that can reduce the severity of chickenpox, However, theses pills don’t eliminate the virus from the body but stop the virus from replicating.
Adults and teenagers over the age of 14 are more likely than children to have complications resulting from chickenpox, therefore, they should take the medication. However, they should take it only if they start within 24 hours of the rash first developing. If medication is first administered after this time it is not likely to have much of an effect . Additionally, there is natural treatment. The oral antiviral product Novirin has a formula that was shown to be effective in reducing viral symptoms in two post-marketing clinical studies that followed FDA guidelines .
So, if you’re pregnant, or planning, you must show responsibility by being aware of the various viral infections that can harm you and your baby.
1. Russell, R. “New guidelines on chickenpox and pregnancy” – WebMD.com. Published January 21, 2015.
2. The Herald – “CHICKENPOX ALERT FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.” – Published January 21, 2015
3. Patient.co.uk – “Chickenpox in Adults and Teenagers.” Last Checked August 21, 2014.
4. Polansky, H. Itzkovitz, E. Gene-Eden-VIR Is Antiviral: Results of a Post Marketing Clinical Study. Published in September 2013.