Chicken Pox

[jumnien]

If so, how long did it last?

[lazeeboy]

as an adult they call it shingles ,lasts a couple of weeks and is painful

[pumpuiman]

My wife got shingles this year....she just turned 40.

Had a rash on her back and midsection for a week or two, but fortunately not too painful.

It is a virus (herpes zoster) that lays dormant in your spine....then triggered by stress (some say) makes an appearance following nerves from the spine to the skin.

it is estimated 95% of the U.S. population harbors the virus.

[jumnien]

Just curious if any one has had Chicken Pox as an adult. Shingles comes decades after a bout of chicken pox.

[Royale]

If so, how long did it last?

I had it when i was 30, if i remember rightly i was off work for about 10 days after the spots first appeared. I had it really bad, in my mouth eyes and ears, it's the worse thing i've ever had. The itching was the worse , i used Calamine but it didn't seem to do much good. In the end i had to call the doctor out and he gave me some antihistamine tablets which worked wonders ( if only i'd known from day one!) I think that's why they have "chicken pox parties" for kids as it's ten times worse when you're an adult.

[autonomous_unit]

I had it in my mid-twenties. I think my wife had shingles and I caught it from her, since I'd never had it before.

My case was typical and ran about one week with raw rash and another week of healing and itching. I guess I was lucky as I only had a half dozen spots on my face, more on my scalp and back, and a few more on each arm and leg. Some adult cases can have much more severe rash and as a result more recovery time.

There was a fever and flu-like symptoms for about two days before I first saw a rash and realized it was chicken pox. This continued for another three days or so, tapering off slowly until the rash was the only real problem.

[Sheryl]

Shingles is a long-term complication resulting from the virus that causes chickenpox remaining dormant in the body and flaring up later on, causing considerable pain and inflammation olf peripheral nerves.

That is only one of several reasions why immunization against chicken pox is advisable. Other potential complications include encephalitis and pneumonia.

The various complications -- whiohc of coursze affect only a m inority of c ases of chickenpox -- aside, the garden variety of the disease, while hardly a picnic for kids, is much, much worse when contacted by an adult.

A person who has neither been vaccinated for chicken pox (varicella) nor had it as a child should stay strictly away from anyone who has it.

[Jangot]

I had shingles of the face last year (I am 59), so did quite a lot of research on it (The sight of my right eye was under threat.

Yes, shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus.

Only people who have had chicken pox can then develop shingles. As previously mentioned, shingles is just the residual chicken pox virus that has been hiding in the body and resurfaces when the immune system weakens by stress or just old age.

People suffering shingles cannot pass on shingles, but they can pass on the virus to someone who has not previously had chicken pox, and it exhibits in the recipient as chicken pox.

I understand that chicken pox is a rougher ride for adults than children.

Shingles can have long lasting pain and skin sensitivity effects, but I think chicken pox, although painful during its course, does not have these residual effects.

Anyway, there is a lot of good info on the 'net about it.

J.

[jfchandler]

I had chicken pox in my late 20s.... miserable experience....

Had itchy sores all over my body that got pussy and raised....

Off work for two weeks or so, as I recall.

Some of the ones I'd itched ended up having scars that I had for years, in a couple of places.

Never had shingles, and not interested to try it.