Chicken Pox

So, my son has had chicken pox for the last week and though I have tried to limit contact and seriously wash my hands when touching him today I have started with the bloody rash! Within an hour I am covered in the bloody spots and they are itching sooo bad! I honestly didn’t think I’d get them again, have had them twice already (in childhood), so this is my THIRD time of getting chicken pox and it isn’t even mild. So are there any others out there that have had chicken pox more than once??

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Is this now not classed as shingles or is that something else … hope you get well soon and your son too ! :hugs:

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I have never had them (fingers crossed I don’t either)… even when all of my children caught them. When I was pregnant with one of them I came into contact with them but luckily I was in the middle trimester so the baby wasn’t at risk.

One thing I did with my youngest when they got them was take pictures with my phone as they looked alot worse than with my others… I put a 20p piece next to the worse ones and then again 12 hours later…luckily…I took them to show the Dr’s receptionist as all I had got over the phone was “oh it’s going round” anyhow managed to get a GP to look at my child…and needed treatment…worse case the GP had ever seen.

Also a close family member had them as a child and also caught them in his 30’s and was covered head to toe even in his very most of intimate places…he was ill for 3 weeks.

Sounds a really bad dose get yourself checked over…I would ring the GP and tell them you have a bad dose. Good old google the most up to date information on adult chickenpox and what you should do too. Take pictures too so you have a record of how they are changing…

Poor you 3 times!!!

Hope you and your son are ok and not too ill with them…

:hugs::hugs::hugs:

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Wow - very unusual and horribly unlucky. Please feel free not to answer but do you have any issues with your immune system? It’s very unusual not to be immune from chicken pox after having it once and as @Latex73 says, normally the inactive virus then results in shingles when you’re exposed. Does happen though and you have my sympathy.

I was lucky, had it as a kid and like most children, it was very mild. My Dad caught it off me though (having not had it before) and had the most horrific time with it. I hope you’re on the mend soon!

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Hi @Latex73 shingles is different to chicken pox but of the same virus. After you’ve had chicken pox the virus lays dormant in the nerves and later when you hit a period of stress etc in your life (so they say) the dormant virus reactivates as shingles but only in the area it was dormant so not a full body rash etc. So if you have shingles you aren’t infectious as shingles however you could give someone chicken pox if they have never had it. Hope that makes sense :slight_smile:

@Peitho @KinkiKupple its very painful >>my mum had it years ago go to the docs asap !!! you need meds !

Thanks @Latex73 @CurvyJilly @Peitho I have multiple sclerosis so my immune system isn’t great. Have taken photos to see how it progresses and will try to get hold of my neurologist today see if there is something other than antihistamines but sure they’re won’t be alot that doesn’t interact with my ms drugs.

I’ve had shingles and it’s very ouch! But it’ll only appear on one side of the body and in a ring like rash with blisters.

It’s a strain of the chicken pox virus that everyone gets after having pox that lays dormant in the lower spinal nerves which can be triggered at any given time, usually if under loads of stress or weakened immunity and thankfully in majority of cases you’ll be very unlikely to get it twice. :relieved:

Darn that is very unlucky to get pox more than once. Might be best to connect act your doctors about it…

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As a kid we had Calamine lotion slathered on us to ease the itching, so that may be a good accompaniment to antihistamines?

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I think in adult life its shingles and i caught it at work (beauty therapist) at the time of the appointment the client didn’t visibly have it. Once she made contact with me i then figured out i got it that way, i was washing my hands religiously because of hygiene but once its made its way in it has.

As @WillC said - calamine lotion will be your best friend.

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Have you been vaccinated with the chicken pox vaccine? And with all the times you’ve gotten it I’d suggest getting the shingles vaccine as well :sweat_smile: My mom is barely into her 50s and she got shingles (as she had a mild case of chicken pox in university) so she’s now been vaccinated against it and had her chicken pox booster as well :sweat_smile: Also it doesn’t matter how careful you are around him, it’s highly infections with a 90% infection rate in healthy people who aren’t vaccinated and much higher in immunocompromised people vaccinated or not :sweat_smile: I don’t get why the chickenpox vaccine isn’t part of the routine vaccination schedule in the UK, I got it with all my other vaccines as soon as I could as kid in the US :woman_facepalming: :sweat_smile:

I only found out there is a vaccine for it the other day, and that most countries have it as part of their normal childhood vaccines… myself and my chicken pox scars were less than happy :sweat_smile:

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I’ve had chicken pox three times & shingles twice :confounded::confounded::confounded: I don’t envy you, it’s horrid!

I didn’t get on very well with Calamine, try Virasoothe - I discovered it when the kids had it a few years back & honestly they barely knew they had it.

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How are you doing @KinkiKupple

:hugs::hugs::hugs:

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I just found out from reading this that there’s a vaccine for it! :upside_down_face:

I had chicken pox as a child and then had stress induced shingles a few years ago, which was agony! :grimacing: Had it across one side of my face and was only able to take paracetamol for the pain and calamine lotion, as others have suggested! It cleared up after a couple of weeks, with the worst of it over in the first week. I did have some facial scars for a couple of years though :confused:

Hope you get well soon @KinkiKupple :sweat_smile:

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I caught chicken pox at 28 and was really quite ill having fought off most things without issue i still have marks on my skin now at 55, non of the traditional itch relief products did anything to help!!! I’m tempted to suggest Canesten why because it contains Lidocaine a very good local anesthesia ?

Sorry to hear that @KinkiKupple, I hope you both feel better soon. I had chicken pox as a child, then caught shingles all over my face age 23.

Sorry to hear of your problem . As a heart patient they would not let me get chicken pox as a child . Fast forward to when I met my wife and was an EMT , her son caught them and so did I at 28 . I have distant memories of the treatments I used , just remember it was not fun . I do believe shingles is any follow up infection , and it can be quite maddening . One warning to anyone who gets shingles if you itch , scratch the effected area is DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES ! If you accidentally do and it starts to bother them , see a doctor right away . Yes I recommend the shingles vaccine for all adults that had chicken pox . May you get better soon .