i've never had chicken-pox, can i still get shingles? i'm 33 am i too old for chicken-pox as well?

Answer 1

You are not too old for it. Chicken pox as an adult is called shingles. That is the correct term as an adult and you can get it. It HURTS really bad. Good news though, is if you do get it, it only will be on one side of the body. It won't spread to the other side. You can get a titer done, which is a blood draw to see if you are immune to the disease. Almost anyone who has had the chicken pox is suspectible to getting shingles. Just depends on how immune you are to the disease. It lays dormant in the body and stress or any kind of infection it can just flare up. You can also get it more then once. Hope that you don't get it because it burns and itches and hurts even after the rash of it goes away. It sucks. Good luck!

Answer 2

I don't know what Shingles are. But I'm 16 and I've even had my chicken pox. They sucked by the way. But you are never too old for chicken pox. The bad thing is that if you are affected, they are 10x worse than if you were a kid. They are much larger and harder to get rid of.

Answer 3

You can get chicken pox at any age. I thought you couldn't get shingles unless you've had chicken pox - apparently thats a myth and you can have shingles regardless. Shingles hurt deep down where as chicken pox seems to be more on the surface. Get better soon xxx

Answer 4

Chicken pox is a type of herpes, you can get it at anytime, there is however a vaccine that was made in 1995, This disease can be deadly for people 20+. You can not get shingles until you have had chicken pox due to shingles being basically another, worse outbreak of chicken pox.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Chickenpox can affect anyone at any age if they are non immune, in fact it tends to be much more severe in adults than in children, I have had to admit about half a dozen adults with chickenpox, where I have never admitted a child.. It was probably this that led to the popularity of 'chickenpox parties'. These were still in vogue when I was a child. As soon as one child got chickenpox the mum would invite all the local kids in. They nearly all got infected and got over what was a relatively mild childhood infection for most.

The theory of shingles was worked out by a GP making observations in practise. Basically it says that after an initial infection with the varicella virus which causes a chickenpox infection, the body fails to kill off the virus, and it simply lies dormant. At a later date, usually when triggered the virus reactivates, usually affecting a single nerve root on one side of the body only. Triggers include being run-down with other infections. Deficiency problems with the immune system and even exposure to bright sunlight.

I have over the years made a couple of observations myself, which at least cast a little doubt on the theory. Firstly we seem to see shingles in clusters. This should not occur if the disease does not spread by infection. Secondly of the 6 adults I have had to admit 2 of the most seriously ill had chickenpox and shingles affecting a nerve root at the same time.

An immunisation is available against chickenpox. It exists as part of a multiple vaccine given to children. It is used in Europe routinely and I believe also in USA. I suspect it has not been introduced in GB because our childhood immunisation levels have decreased, due to irrational concerns not shared by health services abroad. I think the powers that be fear, with some justification, that adding yet another vaccine to the child schedule might further reduce the uptake.

Answer 7

If you've never had chicken-pox,you cannot get shingles. To contract the shingles virus you must have had chicken-pox.You can get chicken-pox at any age.

Answer 8

I'm no expert but it's the same virus that manifests in different ways, as far as I know adults can get chicken pox but kids cant get shingles.

Answer 9

Shingles is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus responsible for these conditions is called Varicella zoster. After an individual has chickenpox, this virus lives in the nerves and is never fully cleared from the body. Under certain circumstances, such as emotional stress, immune deficiency (from AIDS or chemotherapy) or with cancer, the virus re- activates causing shingles. In most cases, however, a cause for the reactivation of the virus is never found. The herpes virus that causes shingles and chicken pox is not the same as the herpes virus that causes genital herpes (which can be sexually transmitted) and herpes mouth sores. Shingles is medically termed Herpes zoster.

About 500,000 cases of shingles occur each year in the US. Anyone who has had chicken pox has risk for shingles later in life, which means that 90% of adults in the US are at risk for shingles. Shingles occurs, however, in between 10% and 20% of these adult over the course of their lives, so certain factors must exist to increase the risk for such outbreaks.

The Aging Process The risk for herpes zoster increases as people age, so the overall number of cases will undoubtedly increase as the baby boomer generation gets older. One study estimated that a person who reaches 85 has a 50% chance of having herpes zoster. The risk for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is also highest in older people with the infection. PHN is persistent pain and is the most feared complication of shingles.

Answer 10

I got chicken pox when I was 22. Ask your doctor if you can get the chicken pox shot they have out now for kids. If you haven't gotten chicken pox yet, you still can. Good luck:)