I frankly don't think shingles is contagious, I got it when my kids were small and they got chicken pox, it hit me in my back and part of my arm, very painful and in fact my back is still kind of numb where I got it. The doctor told me I should rest but at that time we were heavily dependent on very few people at work, so my boss told me if I could man it out and work. Well I did, and actually nobody I was near with developed shingles, and the only people I know who have had shingles got it because of contact with children with chicken pox, apparently this happens when your defenses are not to strong because you got chicken pox when you were a child and it didn't hit hard enough for the body to acquire defenses. At least that is what I have been led to believe through experience.