Human health question

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platypus

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Ok ive heard a few different theories on this does anyone know the truth or experienced it themselves

Once youve had chicken pox you cant catch them again if you do they are shingles :confused:

Thanks in advance for replies :)
 
It certainly used to be said with all the childhood illnesses that you only caught them once, but there are always exceptions.

I have been told that shingles is related to chickenpox virus, and seems to affect adults. It is not at all pleasent and can be very painful, but recently a baby in our family has had chickenpox, but none of the adults have caught it or had shingles.
 
I might be wrong but if you have chickenpox as a child then you cant catch it again. You can get shingles though which is really painful (I know from experience)
If you havent had chickenpox as a child you can stil catch it as an adult but it can be more 'serious' aparently!

ETA ... why not just google is or look on the NHS website?
 
Although unlikely there is a possibility u can get chicken pox more than once & will not necessarily b as shingles.

People who tend to get it a 2nd time are usually elderly/had it as v young child so immune system compromised etc
 
I caught chicken pox when I was 25. It was rank, floored for 2 weeks. Apparently (although I may be wrong) you're more likely to catch shingles as an adult if you've not had chicken pox before.
 
You can have chicken pox more than once. Shingles is caused by the same virus which lies dormant in the body, so if you have had chicken pox the danger is next time it becomes active it develops into shingles (which is much more serious and painful) - especially adults with compromised immunity. Someone who has shingles can pass on chicken pox to someone who hasn't had it before. Nasty :p
 
Thanks guys, i think id much rather catch chicken pox again than have shingles, just always been told you cant catch it twice and have been around a child with it at the moment whose mother has caught it off them so just been wondering-im itching at the thought :eek:
 
Starry_eyes said:
I caught chicken pox when I was 25. It was rank, floored for 2 weeks. Apparently (although I may be wrong) you're more likely to catch shingles as an adult if you've not had chicken pox before.
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You cannot catch shingles. Shingles occurs when the chickenpox virus is reactivated.... usually as an adult but it can happen to children. Only one nerve / dermatome is affected. You have to have had chickenpox as a child in order to develop shingles later in life. It is possible to catch chickenpox from someone who has shingles but you have to have close physical contact for this.....
 
MrsHutt said:
You can have chicken pox more than once. Shingles is caused by the same virus which lies dormant in the body, so if you have had chicken pox the danger is next time it becomes active it develops into shingles (which is much more serious and painful) - especially adults with compromised immunity. Someone who has shingles can pass on chicken pox to someone who hasn't had it before. Nasty :p
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this my youngest had chicken pox for 10 days and it was clearing up nicely then the 'spots' went green and nasty looking off to the doctors we went to be told she had it a second time already, the second time round it lasted another ten days
 
Yeah, As other members have said, shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus- it only happens when you get pustules over a nerve ending and the virus can 'hide' dormant until you are exposed to it again. Its nasty! (Speaking from experience) required large doses of antib's and antivirals and if it doesnt clear up thoroughly you can be re-infected. Not the same thing as chickenpox twice, but that is also possible.
 
Both of my children have had chickenpox twice, apparently it was because they only had it mildly the first time round !

And even more surprisingly by then 5 yr old son has had shingles- I had no idea what this odd rash was , took him to the drs as we very surprised when the dr confirmed shingles!! I thought that was an adult version of chicken pox!!
 
I had chicken pox 6 times!! Have had shingles twice, all before I was 16 years old. Fortunately as an adult I have never had it re-occur and as a swimming instructor I am in a pretty high risk environment for it (been teaching since I was 14).
 
platypus said:
Ive also heard it can be stress related/nerves, anyone know if this is true?
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Yes definatly , my Mum gets shingles if she run down or I'll with something esle , it reminds me of horses and sarcoids they tend to get more in stress situations which of course is why they often appear when a horse changes homes.
 
I had chickenpox for the first time at 32, made even more inconvenient by the fact I was 8 months pregnant with my 3rd child! No complications for either of us, but when my son was exposed to chickenpox at age 2ish, he came down with shingles instead.
 
They are all the herpes virus - same as cold sores and genital herpes. As with any virus, your immune system is important in creating antibodies - if you are run down and your immune system is below par or compromised, the virus gets the upper hand again. I'm not sure whether this virus mutates like the flu and cold ones do, which could explain why it causes problems later once it is in the body. Someone once told me it lies dormant in the spinal cord, but he was a bull *****ter so could have been totally made up! It does appear to remain dormant in the body - I get cold sores whenever I have a cold, but have not been reinfected.
 
JillA said:
They are all the herpes virus - same as cold sores and genital herpes.
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Yes and no.
There different types of the herpes virus one of which is varicella zoster which causes chicken pox one is herpes simplex 1 which causes cold sores/or genital herpes and the other is herpes simplex 2 which is genital. So its not quite the same. Just wanted to clarify as the above sounds a bit like you can get herpes from someone with chicken pox :o
These viruses sit dormant in the nerve root ganglia and then flare up.
 
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