Can you get Chicken Pox more than once?

Hapless_2

Isn't chicken pox one of the viruses that have to be reported? like measles etc?

Savvy_Sue

I agree that the OP may need to seek medical advice as to whether it is or is not chicken pox, in case it's not, and certainly if someone is very poorly with it then they need to see a GP, or if an adult they may need a medical certificate for work. However, I don't think any of my children have ever seen the GP with chicken pox - Health Visitor happened to call in when DS1 had it the first time and agreed that his one or two spots 'looked like' chicken pox, which was doing the rounds at the time.

If it's a child involved, and all the OP needs is confirmation that you CAN get it more than once, then I am not sure why the GP needs to be involved?

DrFluffy

Hapless wrote: »

Isn't chicken pox one of the viruses that have to be reported? like measles etc?

No - it's desireable for kids to get it, to protect pregnant ladies and other adults that haven't got it. Varicella is not notifiable.

Savvy_Sue

Hapless wrote: »

Isn't chicken pox one of the viruses that have to be reported? like measles etc?

Nope. I've just looked it up. Measles is, chickenpox isn't.

AJB135

Hi Everyone

Many Thanks for your replies, I was only asking because my 4 year old nephew has got chicken pox at the moment. I just wondered if you could get it more than once, as I had it when I was a child.

I was just curious that is all.

Many Thanks again for the replies.

ajb135

Toothsmith

snails's_pace wrote: »

no..but you can get shingles from someone who has chickenpox...i believe

This is the wrong way round I think.

The virus stays in your body in a dormant state once you've had chicken pox. If it rears it's ugly head again, that's when you develop shingles.

The virus becoming active again makes the person infective quite a while before shingles symptoms show - and in that time, several kids in contact with that adult can catch the virus, and start showing signs of chicken pox.

So the sequence of events is often the kids with chicken pox being blamed for the adult's shingles, when really it's the adult who started it all off!

Is that right Fluffy??

snails's_pace

Shingles can only arise in individuals who have had previous exposure to chicken pox (varicella zoster). Individuals develop shingles for many different reasons, most of which are thought to be a result of events which depress the immune system, such as aging, severe emotional stress, severe illness, immunosuppression or long-term use of corticosteroids.[5] However, the cellular and immunological events that lead to reactivation are poorly understood.[6] There have been recorded cases of outbreaks occurring due to unmanaged stress or other stresses to the skin such as pinching in more sensitive areas of the skin (nipples, ears, and underarms), scratching, or biting.[3]

URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herpes_zoster&action=edit&section=3"]edit[/URL Pathophysiology


A course of Shingles


The causative agent for herpes zoster is varicella zoster virus (VZV). Most people are infected with this virus as a child, as it causes chicken pox. The body eliminates the virus from the system, but it remains dormant in the ganglia adjacent to the spinal cord (called the dorsal root ganglion) or the ganglion semilunare (ganglion Gasseri) in the cranial base.
Generally, the immune system suppresses reactivation of the virus. In the elderly, whose immune response generally tends to deteriorate, as well as in those patients whose immune system is being suppressed, this process fails. (Some researchers speculate that sunburn and other, unrelated stresses that can affect the immune system may also lead to viral reactivation.) The virus starts replicating in the nerve cells, and newly formed viruses are carried down the axons to the area of skin served by that ganglion (a dermatome). Here, the virus causes local inflammation in the skin, with the formation of blisters.[1][3]
The pain characteristic of herpes zoster is thought to be due to irritation of the sensory nerve fibers in which the virus reproduces.

squeaky

I had shingles when I was in the Navy. They plonked me in sick bay for two weeks.

Then some magic specialist came round, took one look, and sent me back to work.

I was pleased, honest Hospital is boring.


Going back to an earlier post, back in the late fifties, if a child had chicken pox, all the friends and neighbours would send their kids round to play with the unfortunate with the express intention of "getting it over with while they're young".

Do people still do this?

snipzychick

Yes, you can get it more than once. I've had it three times, so has my bro, also my ds had it twice, the 1st time was mild, but the 2nd time was really bad.

aurora_borealis_2

My mum swears I had measles three times.

I can vividly remember the pain in my eyes - owwwwwww.