Can you get chicken pox again as an adult?

[QueenOfCats]

Hope someone can offer some advice!

Brother sil and 6 mo nephew staying with us for the last few weeks.

3 weeks ago brother developed shingles. Last night baby came out in chicken pox. Last couple of days I have been sneezy, headachey, had a mild sore throat and a bit of a cough.

I have been itchy all night, have a headache and am feeling generally yucky so have come back to bed. Itching is mainly face, neck and torso.

Oops! Pressed send too quickly!

Had a blood test 2 weeks ago - FBC + CP and RF all normal.

No rash at the moment.

Any ideas?

Could it be related to the chicken pox or the shingles?

It's possible to catch chicken pox two or three times if the first was mild as your body won't have built up a defence to it. Check for the spots

Thanks ladymary - I don't think I had it very badly as a child, so I guess there's a very small chance I could get it again then?

Even the insides of my ears are itchy! But do you itch before you get a rash?

DD had chicken pox twice as a child. The 1st time she only had a few spots, the 2nd time she was covered in them. She has also had Shingles twice too.
So, no reason why you couldn't have it again if you only had it mildly the 1st time or your immunity has worn off for some reason.
You don't catch Shingles from someone with Shingles - you can only catch Chicken Pox. You only get Shingles if you have already had Chicken Pox. The virus lies dormant in your body and is usually activated when your feeling low or stressed. Shingles rash usually only appears in one place on the body and follows the line of a nerve. It is only contagious (to someone who hasn't had chicken pox) if the weeping spots are touched - so if they are on the torso and covered by clothing, it is usually pretty safe.

Yes dh caught from ds1 even though his mum said he had had it before. His brother also had it twice as an adult.

I caught it when I was 13 and it was quite bad. I can't remember any itching. I think it starts off with a mild temp and feeling generally crap. Then the blisters appear. It's probably not good to catch it as an adult as it can be severe so maybe give your OOH a call to see if there's something they can prescribe? There should be some anti-virals which should keep the little buggers at bay if you get them early enough.

Thanks for the advice

Still feeling itchy but no rash so fingers crossed!

That's great to hear.

I've had it quite a few times badly as a child and adult but I'm a rare case of somebody with a screwy immune system (I have an auto immune disease too) that hasn't got immunity.
If you got it mildly as a child then you may get it again as an adult or it may be that you are just unwell (Tis the season for it) & because others are around you have CP that it's making you itch too (I feel itchy for days every time the nit letter from school comes round but I've never got them)