# Chicken Pox-fatal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690 "2003-12-12T23:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/1 "2003-12-12T23:38:38Z")
I remember hearing as a kid that if you didn’t get the chicken pox when you were young, it would kill you as an adult. Is it true and if so, what are the chances of it being fatal? ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/2 "2003-12-13T00:05:37Z")
HPL could be right. Chicken Pox in adults can be quite dangerous and a person might die. Cite: [http://www.drgreene.com/21\_510.html](http://www.drgreene.com/21_510.html) > [@](#): > > Clip: Adults who get chicken pox usually have a much more severe, prolonged case than children. Pneumonia is common. The rate of hospitalization for chickenpox is almost 900% higher in adults than in children. Adults are more than 20 times more likely to die from this disease. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/3 "2003-12-13T00:10:22Z")
The chances are pretty low. Chicken pox can occasionally cause encephalitis, which is usually not fatal. I’d **guess** one in 100,000 or less. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/4 "2003-12-13T00:32:20Z")
Ok. Two opposite answers from two opposite (nearly) ends of the Americas. 😉 This was a common belief when I was a kid too. I remember being pretty darn sick with chicken pox myself. I still have some cute little scars. Do kids still get the Mumps? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/5 "2003-12-13T00:56:29Z")
Here is a little more information from the same cite that I posted above: > [@](#): > > Each year, however, about 200,000 of the millions of people who contract chickenpox become seriously ill with complications such as pneumonia or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). About 2,000 of these die. Those who are at higher risk for complications include those with an already weak immune system, those with eczema or other skin conditions, adolescents, and adults. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/6 "2003-12-13T01:08:09Z")
Deaths in Florida in 1998: [http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4818a3.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4818a3.htm) In 1998 there were six known chicken pox deaths; 2 kids and 4 adults. They quote a death rate of 0.4 per million people, which might not be that far from 1 in 100,000 for adults if they have twice the rate of dying. But it might not be kosher to extrapolate these numbers to different populations. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/7 "2003-12-13T01:33:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > **Do kids still get the Mumps?** According to the [CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/pink/mumps.pdf) (warning: link to PDF document), there were 231 cases of mumps in the U.S. in 2001, down from a immunization era high of 12,848 in 1987. The CDC estimates that there were 212,000 cases in 1964. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-fatal/218690/8 "2003-12-13T04:36:14Z")
Just to emphasize for those of you focusing on the OP and not the subsequent posts’ explanation, while it’s more severe and threatening in adults, you’re not likely to die. You might just wish you’d die (I speak from personal experience) but the wish is not usually granted.