How come i have chickenpox when I am immune ?

Question

I had a blood test a month ago and it said i was immune but i never had em, my kids have had them more than once each ( catching them from each other )
I got a rash this week and ignored it cos i was told i was immune ( even though I have been in contact with a child with chickenpox) but now i have been sent home with chickenpox from the kids ward where I work

The blood test was taken by the hospital haematology dept for occupational health, I have a letter that states I am immune, but obviously I am not !

Answer 1

Be glad it was chickenpox and not shingles.

I would guess (but an not an immunologist) that you had picked up the infection before your blood test which showed you had the anti-bodies because you were fighting the infection. You then gave it to your children who incubated the virus and made it strong enough so that when it re-infected you your defenses were overwhelmed and you got chicken-pox....

sorry, clear as mud.

One of the Dick Francis novels (Driving Force??) explains the process or a similar process.

Hope you feel better soon. Chicken Pox is miserable. Salt baths help dry up the blisters and stop infections if you have scratched.

Answer 2

Chicken pox immunity requires that your white blood cells come into contact with the chicken pox virus.

This can be from actually having chicken pox or from getting a shot containing weakened or dead virus.

A blood test can check your level of immunity and it is very specific.

You probably have shingles. This comes from the same virus that causes chicken pox. When we get chicken pox some of the virus can hide in a part of your nerve called the ganglion... the root. When our immune system gets weakened... chemo... prolonged stress... HIV... etc... then the virus can activate.

Shingles produces a rash and usually hard lumps under the rash. The pain can be excruciating and make you think it's a muscular or other major problem. With active shingles you are shedding viral particles that can cause chicken pox in the children. The rash of shingles is very interesting because it is hiding in a nerve root it only affects areas that nerve serves.. called a dermatozone. It's usually only on one side of the body and stays within the dermatozone.

If your immune system is extremely low shingles can be life threatening as it can spread to the entire body and internal organs. All cases of shingles and suspected shingles shoud be seen by a healthcare professional at once.

Keep the area covered at all times, especially when going to your healthcare professional... Don't forget that they see many many people in a day and could spread it to others. Avoid anyone with a compromised immune system.. including children, elderly and anyone never exposed to chicken pox or the vaccine.

This virus is a mild childhood disease... but shingles and even adult chicken pox is at best extremely painful and at worst deadly.

Answer 3

The blood test simply shows what your titers are. They say you are immune if your titers are a certain level. But you can still get chicken pox if you have A- not had a severe enough case to produce enough antibodies against the infection or B- have had the vaccine and it has worn off or wasn't effective enough to raise the antibody level. They have had breakthrough cases of chickenpox in kids who have had the vaccine and have reccomended boosters after 10 years. So in my opinion the vaccine helps a lot of people, but there are some who it doesn't work effectivly on. It sounds as if your family won't be protected unless they get a good old fashioned mod- severe case of the real deal. I had them twice too!

Answer 4

Second infections with chickenpox occur in immunocompetent individuals, but are uncommon. Such second infections are rarely severe. A soundly-based conjecture being carefully assessed in countries with low prevalence of chickenpox due to immunisation, low birth rates, and increased separation is that immunity has been reinforced by sub-clinical challenges and this is now less common. This is more dangerous with shingles. There have been reported cases of repeat infections.
Please see the webpages for more details on Chickenpox.

Answer 5

A person can get chickenpox even tho they have had them because they may not have had a full blown outbreak. Chickenpox is a form of herpis. The chickenpox can lead to shingles even if you did have a full blown attack. The shingle you find most commonly in lower back with same look and itchyness as pox.Immunity also plays factor.Lower immunity you body didn't get a chance to fight back.

Answer 6

chickenpox in adults can be serious. If you have some immunity yourself you will not get them to the same degree as someone without immunity. Even if you are vaccinated against some illnesses it is possible to suffer the illness to a lesser degree.

Answer 7

You can't be immune unless you had it before, or you got a shot for it. If you had it, and it was a very mild case then your system might not have a high enough immunity to fight off this particular case of chickenpox.

Answer 8

I'd question the blood test you had? They can't be 100% efficient. Sorry to hear about your illness though. I had it a few years back - and it was very bad. Take good care of yourself and if it gets bad get the doctor to call.

Answer 9

no one is immune from chicken pox..everyone has it once in there life..its betta if you have it while u r a child..cos it aint as bad..the older you get the worse it is on your body...the ppl who havnt had it so far are just very lucky...but if they get it while they are older. more like bad luck for them...cos i have heard of ppl dying from chicken pox..not children..but older ppl..but that is in the poor countries..you will be fine if you are in uk..or usa

Answer 10

i too have never had c/pox, or any other of the childhood diseases. but all 4 kids have had them. may be its a sign of the times. we now live in a dirtier world now.