Q:

I have shingles and I am part of the very small population of people who gets it more than once. One of my roommates has never had the chickenpox and I am wondering how contagious it is and how careful I need to be?

 

A:

You are definitely contagious to your roommate and it is recommended that your roommate have a blood test for varicella immunity (some people are immune without having had the classic illness) and consider getting the varicella vaccination as soon as possible if not immune.

You are not as contagious as if you had chicken pox, but the shingles (herpes zoster) lesions do shed virus so any direct contact with surfaces your roommate may then touch and transfer to mucus membranes puts your roommate at risk.

~The Doc