poxy chicken pox

karlh

hi all,

i know the usual about this not being a med board, but not looking for med advice since there is nothing that can be done by a doc.

had flu last week, which turned to fever, which turned to lots of spots which has been diagnosed as chicken pox. i'm 25 and only now after consulting with my mam that i never had them before

horrible condition. have them on the soles of my feet so can't walk, all over me so can't sleep..glands swollen...sore throat...

anyways, just wondering if anyone has had them as an adult, how long they lasted for (i've had the spots for 3 days now) and if there is anything to relieve the infuriating itching (calomine lotion isn't cutting it)

thanks a lot,
Karl

BizzyC

Well when I was a kid, they lasted a week or 2.
Don't know of anything to stop the itching. Sorry.

kenmc

think I got covered in calamine lotion, also bread soda and water paste?? had it as a kid. supposed to be worser as a non-kid. get well soon.

GOAT_BOY

isn't chicken pox in adults actually Shingles? if so you should go to the doc asap

karlh

ive been to doc and doc came to me again yesterday.

i thought that was the case but aparently they are 2 separate conditions.

the main difference is that shingles is not contageous.

i am

Sleipnir

Yes they are actually more dangerous as an adult than a child.
However, you only get shingles once you've already had Chicken pox.
Shingles is a "left-over" of the chicken-pox.

So, If you had chicken-pox before and now you have similar symptoms, it's shingles.
If you never had chicken-pox as a child and you have the symptoms now, it's chicken-pox.

karlh

cool so i can get shingles some day too!

its like some kind of medieval pokemon.....

shellby

i'm 20 and never had the chicken pox they can be dangerous they older you get (not trying to freak you out) shingles as someone said comes after the chicken pox the only reason i know anything about them is because my ounger sister had them and i had to stay in my aunts house for a week cause she was a fraid i would somehow get the chick pox
anyway i was allowed when my mam taught to ask the doc if this was the case lol

BizzyC

Actually, did you know that chicken pox is a form of herpies??

Interesting fact.

karlh

thanks for that.

much prefer the thought of having herpes

maxheadroom

BizzyC wrote:

Actually, did you know that chicken pox is a form of herpies??

Interesting fact.

No it isn't. Its in the same class of Viruses but its a huge stretch to say that its a form of herpes.

BizzyC

maxheadroom wrote:

No it isn't. Its in the same class of Viruses but its a huge stretch to say that its a form of herpes.

Hey, I'm just going on the wise teachings of South Park here!

Seriuosly though, bad luck on the whole pox thing.

Talliesin

Well yes, that whole family of viruses are called herpes (there's about a hundred or so, but only a handful of them affect humans) and another name for shingles is herpes zoster. Still, it's not the same as herpes simplex, which is what most people think of when they hear "herpes".

You might find porridge better than calomine, or you may not.

susanna

I feel for you, I've got shingles at the moment and its so painful. I'm 21 and I didn't even think I'd had chickenpox before (and neither did my parents) but it must have been a very mild case.

I've found that aloe vera gel is brilliant for soothing the skin. I've also statred taking some herbal tablets called Kalms as they help me to sleep. That's about all I can do, except take painkillers (which don't really work) and hope it clears as quickly as possible.

Get well soon!

up for anything

I hope the doctor warned you to stay away from pregnant women who have never had chicken pox. It can be dangerous to the developing baby if a mother gets it in either the early months of pregnancy or the last stage up to and including labour.

Edited to fix an ambiguity.

the_syco

Had Chicken Pox at Christmas time about 10 years ago. I wasn't just itching to get the presents...:rolleyes::(

One sister got it, and then me and my other sister got it.

=-=

Also, when people get Chicken Pox, its quite common to spread it to their friends, to stop them getting it later in life.

Stench Blossoms

I got them when i was younger on my holidays.. the sun really clears them up.

Just take loads of baths. It sooths the itching

Larianne

Calamine Lotion is what works best. Also try taking some lukewam baths. It eases the itching. But whne you get out of the bath, you're better off nearly drip drying than using a towel!

Just lash loads of the lotion stuff on ya! And wear loose clothing

QualderWahl

Hi,

I got a dose of chicken pox when I was 21 which is also relatively old to get this "childhood" disease. The only thing that allievated the itching for me was anti-histamine (spelling?) tablets. I know some people take them for allegies etc... Although they didn't actually reduce the spots, they did greatly ease the itching sensation and ultimately stopped me from going out of my mind !

QualderWahl

Just a correction to the information provided by a previous poster. Do NOT take loads of showers or baths. The doctor informed me that I should keep them dry and only apply lotion to them to reduce the redness. Apparantly, keeping them dry will accelerate recovery and ensure that they don't become infected.

Stench Blossoms

my sister had them aswell about 3 years ago and the doctor told my mam to give her loads of baths to sooth the itching