Chicken Pox At 44yrs Old

[thumper]

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can treat Chicken Pox at my age, 44 yrs. ?? I never had them as a child and it appears to be a very good chance that I have them. I want to itch my skin off !!!

One would of thought if I had made it this long without getting them I was scott free of any chance of getting them, guess not. UGH !!!

[debmidge]

Have you received any anti-viral prescription from Dr.?

[home-based-mom]

I think there is no age limit. My former chiropractor had a patient who caught them from his grandkids when he was in his 70's!

I would suggest letting your family physician know because adults can have complications that kids don't have. You can ask for suggestions when you call.

My insurance company has an 800# hotline staffed 24/7 for questions, etc. If yours has such a thing you might try that.

I remember how miserable I was when I had them - way back in the 2nd grade!

[silk]

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can treat Chicken Pox at my age, 44 yrs. ?? I never had them as a child and it appears to be a very good chance that I have them. I want to itch my skin off !!!

One would of thought if I had made it this long without getting them I was scott free of any chance of getting them, guess not. UGH !!!

You can take an antihistamine like benadryl or something similar for the itching. Also, warm baths with aveno are suppose to be pretty helpful. I'm sure that you're not feeling especially lucky but from what I understand, you should feel fortunate that you got the chicken pox and not the shingles, which are related to the chicken pox and usually only adults suffer from those. They are much more painful and can be pretty sever. New a guy who had them in his eye! Poor man.

Here's something that should be REAL encouraging. Two of my kids have had them twice! And these were documented cases by medical staff. Not just mom guessing at what it was. The last one to have them twice had also been vaccinated. And my grandson just got over a very light case of them and he had also been vaccinated.

Hang in there and try not to scratch.

[flourgirl]

Question....Are you absolutely sure that this is chicken pox? Because you are Celiac...it may be Dermatitis Herpetiformus (sp?). I thought that I had poison Ivy last fall, before my diagnosis.....except that it didn't really look or act like poison ivy, wasn't helped with the usual treatments, and lasted a loooooong time. The blisters burned, and I wanted to take my skin off because the itch was so bad. The blisters on my feet (even on the bottoms...which should have been a clue that it wasn't P.I), bled under the skin and eventually scabbed...pretty nasty...esp. since my job had me on my feet 12 hrs a day.

Anyway......you may want to be sure just what it is you have before you treat it. Derm. Hep. is a skin form of Celiac......you may be getting glutened.

[kabowman]

I got it at 27 with my kids but you should check with you doctor, just in case.

[tarnalberry]

ditto checking with your doc, as there are more complications in adults than children.

[jerseyangel]

ditto checking with your doc, as there are more complications in adults than children.

I agree it's best to check with your doctor, as chicken pox is harder on adults than children as a rule.

An adult family friend caught it from one of my kids years ago--the friend was pretty uncomfortable, but came through just fine

[thumper]

Question....Are you absolutely sure that this is chicken pox? Because you are Celiac...it may be Dermatitis Herpetiformus (sp?). I thought that I had poison Ivy last fall, before my diagnosis.....except that it didn't really look or act like poison ivy, wasn't helped with the usual treatments, and lasted a loooooong time. The blisters burned, and I wanted to take my skin off because the itch was so bad. The blisters on my feet (even on the bottoms...which should have been a clue that it wasn't P.I), bled under the skin and eventually scabbed...pretty nasty...esp. since my job had me on my feet 12 hrs a day.

Anyway......you may want to be sure just what it is you have before you treat it. Derm. Hep. is a skin form of Celiac......you may be getting glutened.

No actually I am not for sure it is chicken pox but it sure looks like it but what you just discribed sounds like it too... I know that when my children (all 4) had chicken pox I never got them and they had them really bad in fact I was still nursing my youngest (he was about 9 months) when they had them and I never got them... that was about 19 yrs ago. Then Erik got shingles and I never got them from that either and the doc told me at that time I must have a natural amunity (sp?) to them.

I would go to the doc but right now my husband has just started a new job (YEAH!!!) and his insurance hasn't started yet, not till April.... So I am playing doc myself right now... ugh.

What is dermatitis herpetiformis (sp?) I never heard of that before.

I hate to admit it but you hit it on the head going around one's house scratching your behind isn't very atractive but like you said I itch ALL OVER and the blisters do burn !

So if it is this what is it and how do I get rid of it ?? What did you do ??

I think I know what a dog feels like w/ fleas....lol.... So if not the chicken pox and possibly dermatitis herpetiformis (sp?) can someone educate me ??

Thumper

[greendog]

While you are talking with you Dr. bring up the vacine you can get to prevent the shingles. If you have Chickenpox that makes you a candidate for shingles later in life, and shingles is no fun at all.

[Guest j_mommy]

I just wanted to add...

I never had a DOCUMENTED case of chicken pox. THe doctors think that I may have had them but only a very light case(I react to the vaccine now which is why they think this), so even though you think you didn't have them, you might have. You also could have an immunity built if what you have is not chix pox. I would go to the DR and make sure what you have is chicken pox as said above adults can have complications.

It could also be DH.

[silk]

I would go to the doc but right now my husband has just started a new job (YEAH!!!) and his insurance hasn't started yet, not till April.... So I am playing doc myself right now... ugh.

What is dermatitis herpetiformis (sp?) I never heard of that before.

So if not the chicken pox and possibly dermatitis herpetiformis (sp?) can someone educate me ??

Thumper

Glad for your husband's new job. And totally get the insurance thing. Went without it for manyeeee years and it is tough. It would take an act of God to get me to the Dr. unless the illness fell under the 'bleeding or burning' rule when we were without coverage.

I don't have much experience with DH so maybe someone who has it can fill in the blanks. In my experience with Chicken pox, they generally start on the trunk of the body and then spread to the extremities. From what I have read about DH, I got the impression that it was kind of the opposite. On the arms and legs and then the trunk. Not sure if this is 100 % true. Also, if I remember correctly, it is common to run a slight fever a few days before you break out with C.P and have slight cold symptom like a runny nose. Does any of this sound familiar?

Also, if you want to avoid paying for a Dr. visit, and if you have school-aged children, you could at least let the school nurse take a look. They see it all of the time and while they may not know what DH looks like, I'll bet they could spot C.P. a mile away. Barring any of this, if the blisters and sores have not resolved themselves in a week or so, you probably have your answer in that it is not C.P. Time will tell.

Good luck.

[flourgirl]

A doctor can take a biopsy of your skin near the lesions to verify dermatitis herpetiformis, but you can find info online (try Mayo clinic or webmd). It's said that it occurs mainly near elbows, knees, but people can and do get it everywhere (and I mean everywhere!) It IS caused by gluten...it is a skin form of Celiac Disease. You may get some relief with bath soaks (I was using oatmeal soak, but I didn't know I was Celiac, and I'm not sure if it hurts to use it), and you may try Calamine...there's a clear one available now so it doesn't look so obvious. It helped ease my itch a little.....but only a little. Without a gluten free diet, it may not go away. A Dr. may perscribe Dapsone, to supress the itch. BUT I understand that some of the side effects are like sick symptoms of Celiac. DO NOT use steroids for relief, because high doses are needed to ease the inflammatory response, and that can aggravate bone loss.....which you already may be dealing with because of Celiac.

I got a lot of this info. in CELIAC DISEASE...A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC by Peter Green, MD (director of Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University).....great book for info, by the way.

Hope this helps a little. DH in anything but fun to deal with. Hope you find relief very quickly. People who've had this, not knowing about Celiac Disease, have had to suffer with this for years (ouch!)

[Wonka]

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can treat Chicken Pox at my age, 44 yrs. ?? I never had them as a child and it appears to be a very good chance that I have them. I want to itch my skin off !!!

One would of thought if I had made it this long without getting them I was scott free of any chance of getting them, guess not. UGH !!!

Make sure that you talk to your doctor and let him know that you have them. Adults get very sick with this. DO NOT GO TO YOUR DOCTORS OFFICE OR TO A HOSPITAL EMERGENCY WITH THIS. It is far too contagious and could a real issue for someone who is immunocompromised or pregnant or very young or old.

My husband came down with chickenpox when our oldest came home with chickenpox. She had about 12 on her body and he had about 12 per square inch of his body. He missed 3 weeks of work and was very ill. He spent alot of time in the tub having oatmeal baths (I put oatmeal, you could use gluten free, in a sock, tied it up and held it under the tap squeezing).

Found this on the web:

In people with confirmed chickenpox, call your doctor if any of the following symptoms develops:

Fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit or above

Itching that is not relieved by medication and baths

Blisters that are inflamed, painful, swollen, or filled with pus

Blisters near the eyes

Signs of brain infection (encephalitis), including severe headache, sleepiness and vomiting

Signs of lung infection (pneumonia), including cough and difficulty breathing