# Chicken pox in adults **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670 "2018-09-21T06:39:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/1 "2018-09-21T06:39:32Z")
A friend and I were talking about how we each had hchicken pox as adults. I’d always heard chicken pox was unbearably itchy, but in my case, there was no itch but nearly unbearable pain. I’d tell myself to just get through that minute, then just get through the _next_ minute, and so on. I assumed the pain was due to having it as an adult, but my friend said she had no pain, just insane itching. She suggested that perhaps I’d actually had shingles, but I had evenly-distributed pox from my scalp to my toes and every symptom of chicken pox except the itching. Also, I hadn’t had chicken pox before. I didn’t go to the doctor because I had no health insurance at the time. I can’t find anything about painful chicken pox. Was I just an anomaly? (Wouldn’t be the first time.) Or is adult chicken pox more likely to be painful than itchy? Do children get chicken pox that’s painful instead of itchy? Why would chicken pox be itchy for some people and painful in others? Obviously at this time, I’m merely curious. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/2 "2018-09-21T06:52:56Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Also, I hadn’t had chicken pox before. That you know of. You could have had it when you were little and not been bothered enough to know. When I got it, I only had a couple of lesions and that was that. (I gave it to my older siblings and they had it much worse) I’m no expert on it, but the pain definitely sounds like shingles. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/3 "2018-09-21T08:11:27Z")
I had chicken pox as an adult and as a child. My sisters gave it to me when I was 7 and then I caught it again a few years ago from my youngest son. I was worried that it must be shingles as everyone knows you can’t catch it twice, so I went to my GP. She told me that it’s not common, but you can in fact get it twice. A combination of mutations in the virus and a reduction in antibodies over the years. This is new and improved chickenpox! As a kid I just had a fever and lots of itching. As an adult, some itching and a huge heap of aching. It felt like every bone in my body had been smashed with a hammer. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/4 "2018-09-21T08:22:41Z")
Excellent points.The timing certainly seemed suspicious, though. I’d spent hours rocking a sick little girl who, it turned out, had chickenpox. Two weeks later–boom. Also, the first symptoms were fever and a sick feeling, followed by pox that were evenly distributed all over my body and not in the “belt” associated with shingles. The pox weren’t in clusters, either. When Mom had shingles, hers were clustered in a reddish band around her waist. Yet shingles hurts and chicken pox doesn’t. Go figure. Thanks for the reply! ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/5 "2018-09-21T08:30:36Z")
Your autoimmune disorder might also have had something to do with how it affected you (if it was pox you had). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/6 "2018-09-21T08:50:34Z")
This is what the NHS says: [Chickenpox - NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chickenpox/) > [@](#): > > Shingles and chickenpox > You can’t catch shingles from someone with chickenpox. You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles if you haven’t had chickenpox before. > > When you get chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It can be triggered again if your immune system is low and cause shingles. > > This can be because of stress, certain conditions, or treatments like chemotherapy. also > [@](#): > > Ask for an urgent GP appointment if: > you’re an adult and have chickenpox > you’re pregnant and haven’t had chickenpox before and have been near someone with it > you have a weakened immune system and have been near someone with chickenpox > you think your newborn baby has chickenpox > In these situations, your GP can prescribe medicine to prevent complications. You need to take it within 24 hours of the spots coming out. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/7 "2018-09-21T16:05:52Z")
I had chickenpox when I was 12. It was so painful that the doctor prescribed a Tylenol/codeine mixture. That’s the only time in my life that I’ve used anything stronger than OTC pain medication. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/8 "2018-09-21T18:54:24Z")
I had it at 24. Itchy, fever, but not pain. The only pain was in the… sensitive regions. Dealing with the resultant scabs was more irritating, however. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/9 "2018-09-21T19:37:58Z")
Even if you get chickenpox as a child, you can still get shingles as an adult. It is caused by the same dormant virus and is much, much more painful. It is a very common infection especially among very old people. There is a vaccine for it however and I recommend that everyone over 50 get it. Shingles has caused people to commit suicide. The virus stays in your body even after the chickenpox fades but it is still there and reactivates when many people get into older age sometimes causing debilitating pain and symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/10 "2018-09-21T20:06:52Z")
I had chicken pox as a child. While I was not an adult, I did have pain. Itching and pain. I had lesions all over, including in my mouth and on my throat as well as all over my scalp. My scalp hurt the most. It was miserable. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/11 "2018-09-21T20:37:40Z")
I had it when I was 7 or 8. I think I was in 1st grade. Mine was a pretty mild case. I itched a little but not too bad. My brother and sister got it next, and they both got it worse than I did. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/12 "2018-09-21T22:41:49Z")
My father had shingles twice, so it is indeed possible. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > Even if you get chickenpox as a child, you can still get shingles as an adult. Having chicken pox as a child doesn’t make you immune to shingles – exactly the opposite. That’s mainly how you get it. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/13 "2018-09-21T22:52:34Z")
Another thing about shingles. Even though that “girdle” location is a giveaway, you can get it elsewhere. My auntie had it on her face. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/14 "2018-09-21T23:21:26Z")
All this is very enlightening. I’m sorry anyone has had to suffer through chickenpox. I don’t now which would be worse, agonizing itching or agonizing pain. I guess those who’ve had shingles after itchy chickenpox could tell us. Maybe the lupus was at play. I can’t find anything on it making chickenpox painful, but it does seem to make shingles more likely. (I paid for the vaccine several years ago, as docs said it was a must.) I wasn’t diagnosed with lupus then, but it makes sense that inflammation could turn itch to pain. I really was pretty sick and probably should have gone to the doc, but we were poor that year and had no health insurance, so that was out of the question. My then-husband talked to a pharmacist who recommended calamine lotion. It didn’t really help, but playing connect the dot with it was a distraction. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/15 "2018-09-21T23:48:39Z")
I got it at 15 and it was unbearably itchy. Our GP said he had never seen a worse case. It lasted about 2 weeks. I know someone whose shingles was in an eye. Very painful. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/16 "2018-09-21T23:53:09Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > agonizing itching When I got it, I had a cast on my arm and I was complaining that it was itchy underneath the cast. When they removed the cast, they saw a lesion there. I remember it being pretty annoying having an itch that you couldn’t do anything about. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/17 "2018-09-21T23:55:34Z")
I had shingles on my neck, my shoulder and under my arm. It’s not always in a girdle place. It hurt so bad I thought of jumping off a bridge. I was on a strong narcotic and I still hurt. Now I have post-herpatic neuralgia, for the rest of my life, probably. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/18 "2018-09-22T05:06:06Z")
> [@blob](#): > > When I got it, I had a cast on my arm and I was complaining that it was itchy underneath the cast. When they removed the cast, they saw a lesion there. I remember it being pretty annoying having an itch that you couldn’t do anything about. Oh, my God. That makes me itch just thinking about it. _Shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/19 "2018-09-22T05:11:37Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I had shingles on my neck, my shoulder and under my arm. It’s not always in a girdle place. It hurt so bad I thought of jumping off a bridge. I was on a strong narcotic and I still hurt. Now I have post-herpatic neuralgia, for the rest of my life, probably. Holy crap, the gift that keeps on giving. I’m so sorry. That sounds like hell on earth. When my mom had shingles, friends kept telling her–in that helpful way people have–about people who lost their sight due to shingles on the eye or who committed suicide due to the pain. I believe it. What a horrible, nasty virus. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-pox-in-adults/821670/20 "2018-09-22T07:25:08Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Oh, my God. That makes me itch just thinking about it. _Shudder_ The worst thing is that the doctor told me it was itchy because I hadn’t been able to wash my arm while the cast had been on. Yeh, right.