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tobey
12-23-2006, 09:30 AM
Had the pleasure of getting the chickenpox last week. Unfortunately for me, I never had them as a kid.

I have to say, it was ABSOLUTE HELL! I always thought it was this simple little disease that once contracted, would cause you to develop these funny little itchy red spots, and all you had to do was avoid scratching them. I suppose I got that idea in my head from watching various sitcoms on TV over the years, where characters would get the chickenpox. It was usually a very delightfully comical situation.

What they failed to mention in those sitcoms is the incredibly sore joints, the high fever, the POUNDING headaches, and that the sores can feel like they're burning you alive for the first few days! I didn't sleep for two days, because of the burning and itching. I was so freaking tired, I couldn't pay attention to anything. I was kind of "just there".

I tried to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was the special extended edition DVD set. It was given to me as a gift last year, and I never found the time to watch it. So I figured, "I've got time now!". But I was so tired, I could barely comprehend what the hell was happening in front of me. Plus 10+ hours later when I got to the end of the set, I found disc two of "The Return of the King", was an exact duplicate of one of the special features discs! Thank you so much, Newline Home Entertainment. So I have no idea how the movie ends, I assume they melted the ring and the kind returned or something...

I had sores in my throat, my mouth, all over my face and my scalp. I even got one under one of my fingernails, and it actually stated pushing the nail up! Ugh!

I suppose they don't show those parts on TV because it would kind of take away from the comedy part of the show, or something.

But I'm happy to report that almost all of the sores have healed up now. I can't believe the huge ass craters some of them left in my skin though! I've got the three on my face that I think are going to leave big scars. Maybe in time they won't look so bad.

Oh well, at least my brain didn't swell up...

The moral of the story: If you have kids, for the love of god, try to give the chickenpox to them while they're young!! But more importantly, make sure you check all of the DVDs in your Lord of The Rings DVD set before the return period is up.

That is all.

ariastar
12-23-2006, 09:55 PM
I got it at 13. I was out of school close to a month, got them in my throat, was crying, it was terrible. My mom made me go in and I was terrible for it. I HATE doctors! Needles! Shots! Chickenpox can go to hell!

Watch the Chickenpox episode of South Park!

keithldick
12-23-2006, 11:03 PM
I had it when I was young also... Very painful and I had to stay home and couldn't go outside which drove me nutz...

samureye
12-23-2006, 11:26 PM
I don't know if I had it, can't you get vaccinated so you never get it? And you can't get it more than once, correct?

kowgod
12-23-2006, 11:35 PM
I don't know if I had it, can't you get vaccinated so you never get it? And you can't get it more than once, correct?

Yes, once you get it, you're immune.

And the vaccine is not very effective. Doctors will actually sometime vaccinate kids multiple times, due to it's lack of efficacy.

I think I had them when I was 7. I don't remember much about it, except taking baking soda baths.

originx
12-23-2006, 11:42 PM
I got it at 13. I was out of school close to a month, got them in my throat, was crying, it was terrible. My mom made me go in and I was terrible for it. I HATE doctors! Needles! Shots! Chickenpox can go to hell!

Watch the Chickenpox episode of South Park!

IN your throat? Now that's a new one. I am left wondering how that happened.
hahahahhah

ariastar
12-24-2006, 03:44 AM
IN your throat? Now that's a new one. I am left wondering how that happened.
hahahahhah

It's a virus. You can get chickenpox in your nose, throat, ears, even your eyes and digestive track.

tobey
12-24-2006, 04:29 AM
Yep, you can definitly get them in your throat. I think I had about three in my throat. It was a tad bit scary when I would swallow food, becuase stuff would kind of get caught up on them, and it felt like I was going to choke.

It was just terrrible. I am so glad you can only get this once...

ariastar
12-24-2006, 04:51 AM
Yep, you can definitly get them in your throat. I think I had about three in my throat. It was a tad bit scary when I would swallow food, becuase stuff would kind of get caught up on them, and it felt like I was going to choke.

It was just terrrible. I am so glad you can only get this once...

You CAN actually get it more than once. It's just rare.

tobey
12-24-2006, 05:03 AM
Yeah, I remember reading about that. It usually happened to people who were vaccinated.

lefrenzy
12-24-2006, 08:44 PM
Sheesh, there are way too many cases of adult chickenpox in the States...I don't remember hearing 1 back when I grew up in France...

tokenuser
12-24-2006, 10:00 PM
Had the pleasure of getting the chickenpox last week.Is there a difference between adult chickpox and shingles?

de3po
12-24-2006, 10:29 PM
Is there a difference between adult chickpox and shingles?
I think Shingles is caused by having Chickenpox.


Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles
The causative agent for herpes zoster is varicella zoster virus (VZV). Most people are infected with this virus as a child, as it causes chickenpox. The body eliminates the virus from the system, but it remains dormant in the ganglia adjacent to the spinal cord (called the dorsal root ganglion) or the ganglion semilunare (ganglion Gasseri) in the cranial base.

Generally, the immune system suppresses reactivation of the virus. In the elderly, whose immune response generally tends to deteriorate, as well as in those patients whose immune system is being suppressed, this process fails. (Some researchers speculate that sunburn and other, unrelated stresses that can affect the immune system may also lead to viral reactivation.) The virus starts replicating in the nerve cells, and newly formed viruses are carried down the axons to the area of skin served by that ganglion (a dermatome). Here, the virus causes local inflammation in the skin, with the formation of blisters.

The pain characteristic of herpes zoster is thought to be due to irritation of the sensory nerve fibers in which the virus reproduces.
My dad had shingles awhile back and it looked painful.


As for me having Chickenpox I don't remember but I hope I did.