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I had it for three weeks as a child in the Forties, in old age I began getting the occasional spot of herpes on my trunk - which I presume is from the pox.
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Originally Posted by ReturningWest
Yup but I was born in 1950. Everyone had it as a child.
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Originally Posted by chiroptera
I was born in 1958 and didn't get chicken pox as far as anybody knows. (Did get both measles and mumps as a kid, though.)
Never been tested for the antibody but I've never had shingles or herpes or anything like that so far, knock on wood.
All of you should consider taking the shingles vaccine.
As a child back in the 50s I had been exposed many times, all 4 of my brothers had it but I never caught it. So apparently I had some kind of immunity back then that wore off.
Most adults who are too old to have been vaccinated for chickenpox have had it. They may not remember it or they may have had a very mild case.
It is possible to have a blood test for antibodies to the chickenpox virus to confirm immunity. If you are not immune, consider being vaccinated.
The vaccine was introduced in the US in 1995.
Older adults should consider the shingles version of the vaccine, whether they know they have had chickenpox or not. It is FDA approved for age 50 and above, the CDC suggests age 60 and above, though insurance coverage may have different age limits.
The youngest person I know *personally* who's had shingles, was around 56 when she got it. I'm thinking I'll get it when I'm 55. I had a very very mild case of it once, years ago on my arm. It felt like a patch of fire-ant bites around four inches from near my shoulder to my elbow, and a few inches side. It went away on its own but it was brutal, during the time it lasted. I never got it officially diagnosed though, so it could've been something else. I -did- have the chicken pox when I was a kid. And the measles. My sister got the mumps.
I ended up with the rock-solid immune system in the family, go figure.
I had it when I was about 27. DH and I eloped to Vegas over Christmas. My first day back at work, I felt like a freight train had hit me. Every joint in my body was in pain. I had a headache. The next day I felt fine, but as I was showering, I discovered three blister type spots on my lower spine. I asked DH to look at them and, since he had two young kids, he knew right away that it was chicken pox. I told him I had been exposed to it (like held babies with it) and never gotten it so why would I get it now.
I went to work and monitored the progress of the blisters around my waist and spreading outward. I finally called my doctor at noon and they told me to come in immediately. He confirmed it was chicken pox and said I was still just barely in the window of time where starting acyclovir would help shorten the severity and length of the illness. He handed me a note writing me out of work for two weeks, which I scoffed at because I felt fine at that point, just itchy!. I figured I'd take the rest of the day and the next off to give the meds time to work and then return to work.
I ended up so sick. I barely remember the first week. I ran a high fever and DH had to stay home to care for me. The blisters were horrible. You get them everywhere. The second week was better but it left me so weak and tired.
I returned to work after two weeks. My new boss was furious because I had taken over a week of vacation at the end of December (or else I'd have forfeited it), then returned for 1 1/2 days and then been out on two weeks of sick leave. They had to sub out my work. I had to have my doctor write a letter on my behalf to HR attesting to the fact that I'd been very ill.
I used up all my sick leave in the first two weeks of the year. For the remainder of the year I had to go to work sick, no matter how bad it was.
A year after I had it, the vaccine was put on the market. The vaccine is one of the safest ones they make. I really urge you to get it because you do not want this disease as an adult. It's as brutal as the say, even with anti-virals.
The good news is now that there's a vaccine, chicken pox are rare. Therefore you're not extremely likely to catch it from anyone because no one really has it, or if they do, they are quarantined at home or in the hospital. Still a good idea to see your doctor, listen to their recommendations, perhaps consider shingles or chicken pox vaccines.
They don't quarantine you. You don't feel like going anywhere, but they don't quarantine you. A person is contagious with it for two days prior to the blisters, and it can be transmitted by sneezing/coughing, so you wouldn't know to avoid them.
They don't quarantine you. You don't feel like going anywhere, but they don't quarantine you. A person is contagious with it for two days prior to the blisters, and it can be transmitted by sneezing/coughing, so you wouldn't know to avoid them.
There is no official quarantine, but for goodness sake if you have it stay home. You are contagious until all the blisters have crusted over.
You are contagious until the blisters scab over -- way longer than 2 days before the blisters appear! Also, you cannot get shingles if you never had chicken pox.
For those who did get chicken pox, you will want to consider whether to get the shingles vaccine. If you never had chicken pox, you cannot get shingles.
If you are an adult who still has not had chicken pox, I would definitely ask your doctor to order the blood test that checks to see whether you have the chicken pox antibodies. This should be an indication whether you actually had the chicken pox and just don't remember or had such a slight case that it didn't stand out. I do not believe having a natural immunity to chicken pox would show up in the blood test. If you do not have the chicken pox antibodies I would strongly recommend you get the chicken pox vaccine.
I have had it and so have all my siblings. It was not so bad when I got it. I do know that when you get older they say that it is worse than if you have as a kid....but they also say that if you have chicken pox then you carry the virus for shingles, which I have heard is very painful.
Never had it as a kid, but some siblings did. Guess my immune system was strong enough to ward it off. I figured if I didn't get it, but was exposed to it, with more than one sibling, I'm not even going to worry about getting it.
If I do, and I die...oh well. What are you going to do. We all have to go some time.
As they often say, I am not afraid of being dead, but I am deathly afraid of how I die.
I had chickenpox as a kid so I have the virus in my body. I've never had a case of shingles, but the way a few people have described it here makes me seriously think of getting the vaccine.
I don't trust the flu vaccine, so I've never had one. Is this shingles vaccine safer than the flu vaccine that often ends up crippling people? Can it actually cause an outbreak of shingles, albeit a mild one that might spiral into a severe one?
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