Many are interested in the question of whether it is possible to get chickenpox a second time. It is assumed that chickenpox is a disease that is sick once and for the most part since childhood. However, probably many were scared by friends or relatives, as well as numerous articles on the Internet assure us that there are cases of recurrence of chickenpox in adults.
To begin with, let's decide what chickenpox is in general.
Chicken pox (chickenpox) is one of the most contagious diseases. That is why the majority (about ninety percent of people) are ill with it in childhood. This disease is quite widespread - it occurs in almost all countries of the world. The causative agent of chickenpox is a specific virus that is very unstable in the environment, and therefore it dies quite easily when exposed to ultraviolet radiation or when heated, but it disperses with exceptional speed. This allows the virus to get into many rooms with air currents, and therefore if at least one child gets chickenpox in the kindergarten, the risk zone is quite extensive, even children who do not go in the same group as the sick child fall into it.
This disease is easily transmitted by airborne droplets, and its virus contains chickenpox elements and retains its viability in the air for ten minutes.
The primary signs of chickenpox appear only on the fourteenth - twenty-third day of the disease, so early diagnosis of this disease is almost impossible.
Can I get chickenpox a second time? It is quite real. According to statistics, twenty percent of people have a predisposition to chickenpox recurrence. In addition, in adults this disease can be much more painful than in children. It is especially dangerous when chickenpox is re-detected in the elderly.
The main symptom of chickenpox is a rash. However, this is far from the first symptom. An adult can experience sensations similar to the symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections before the rash appears. Such as, for example, weakness, fever, pain in joints and muscles. In children, as a rule, such symptoms are less pronounced or absent altogether, and the incubation period most often does not exceed two weeks.
Those who are wondering if it is possible to get chickenpox a second time should take into account that usually adults suffer the disease much harder than children. In addition to elevated temperature, an adult can feel severe itching in places of the rash, and the severity of the condition directly depends on the severity of the rash. In this case, the state of the rash proceeds in three stages: the appearance of nondescript and almost invisible red spots up to four millimeters in size, the further transformation of these spots into papules or vesicles (towering above the skin and containing fluid inside) and drying them, ultimately - the appearance of crusts that soon disappear. A rash on the skin appears gradually, not all at once, so on the human body you can simultaneously see all of these stages. You should not be afraid of scarring after chickenpox - all the processes of the disease occur only in the upper layers of the skin, and therefore there should not be any scarring. However, in no case should you comb the rashes, because in this way you can easily bring any infection. In order for the itching to go away, you need to take any antihistamines that a doctor can prescribe.
During chickenpox, symptomatic treatment can and should be carried out - take antipyretic drugs (except aspirin), drink plenty of warm liquid, drink antihistamines and sedatives, try not to sweat, as sweat causes and intensifies itching.
Thus, to the question of whether it is possible to get chickenpox a second time, there is only one answer: “Yes, you can!” And this process in an adult will be much more unpleasant than in a child. However, chickenpox is treatable, and this is good news.