how many times can u get chicken pox in your life time..?

Question

i always heard once but my friend recently came up and told me she had it twice but she is in 5ht grade... is that possible for her to have it twice

Answer 1

It is possible, but not common, to have varicella (chickenpox) more than once. Varicella produces a very strong immune response which, for most people, means that you only suffer once. However, sometimes the immune response is not as robust and the antibody levels generated in response to the initial infection are not sufficient to provide complete protection during subsequent exposure.

For patients who were vaccinated against varicella as a child, recent research has shown that the antibody level begins to decline around late adolescence into early adulthood. This means teenagers and young adults may not be completely protected and could acquire a second infection. As is widely known, infection can be far more severe in older patients and is more likely to be invasive, resulting in varicella pneumonia or varicella meningitis. Both of these conditions carry a significant risk of death. For this exact reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2006 issued a recommendation for all patients to recieve 2 doses of varicella vaccine to provide better protection.

Shingles is not a second infection but a re-activation of latent varicella infection. When you acquire varicella, the virus can make its way to the large groups of nerve cells that lie along the vertebral column (known as dorsal root ganglia). Years later, during periods of stress or declining immunity, the virus can become re-activated and create a painful eruption along the skin. This eruption is known as shingles.

Answer 2

As a rule, you are only supposed to get chicken pox once. If you contract the germ again later in life, it is then called shingles, and it can life threatening at times. Shingles is more painful and not only affects the skin like chicken pox but also the nervous system. The answer is, you can only get chicken pox once, not twice.

Answer 3

You can only get chicken pox once. I have heard people say that they had a mild case then later got it again, but I dont think that it is very common. Once you have it, it stays in your system and you are immune to getting it again.

Answer 4

You can get chicken pox when u r a child or/and something called shingles when u r an adult .

Answer 5

You can have it twice. This usually occurs if the first infection was very mild - thus not enough for the body to really go all out and be familiar enough with it to build enough antibioties.

Answer 6

you can get it more than once, I know of two people who have had it twice. Usually when you are an adult and have had chickenpox you keep the virus in your system and can get shingles if you come into contact with someone who is infected and still contagious.

Answer 7

nope, once you've had chicken pox you don't get it again because it stays in your body. She may have had an outbreak, but it was already there.

Answer 8

Nope... you could only get it once... maybe she had something else before.
Because the thing (forgot the term) stays in your body... and prevents you from getting it again.

Answer 9

usually only one time, but there have been cases in which people will get them again.

Answer 10

if you dont get it all the way the first time.. then yeah- you can get it a second time. its pretty common.