Chook Me!

What are the chances of getting chicken pox for a second time as an adult?

My husband has just been diagnosed with chicken pox. yes, 25 and chicken pox. I had them when i was 4. He had never had them and was told by his parents that he had the shot... Is there any risk of me getting them again? I know the chances are small, his doc says no, but has anyone here gotten them twice?

Public Comments

1. yes. but very very minimal. he never had them before so..
2. your chances are very good, i am 55years old and have just had my second lot of them.
3. The chances are very very small if you've already had them...the chicken pox vaccine is only about 80% effective so thats why he's got them...having had them yourself the percentage is way higher and if you get them again its called something differnt, and behaves sligthyl differntly. (forget what tis caleld though)
4. there is a abot 50 50 chance of getting them because the pox shot dsoe not really work
5. You should be immune to chicken pox...but you could get shingles.
6. You shouldn't, if you already got it. Especially if you're an adult.
7. Highly unlikely unless your immune system is very very weak or has a disease like AIDS
8. The shot has only been out for a few years. I got the shot at age 25 (I am now 31). When I got the shot I broke out in a light case of them. Before the doctor would give me the shot I had to have a blood test to determine I had not had them. I do not think you will get them. Plus if you get the shot, you are more likely to get them rather than you having a case of them as a child.
9. There may be a slight chance at getting chickenpox a second time.
10. There are two schools of thought on this. Some would agree one can get chicken pox a second time. Others (our paediatrician among them) claim that anybody gettting chicken pox a second time was misdiagnosed the first time. Gute Besserung!
11. If you were properly vaccinated or had them, the chances of getting them are slim to none. I would be more worried about your husband. It can have very bad results in adult males, like sterility and/or even death. Make hubby go to the doctor.
12. Your chances are very small, I'd still get a shot though. Better safe then sorry.
13. no you shouldn't get it. Also it depends when he got the shot. Also some shots act differently on different people.
14. I have never heard anyone around me having it twice. And according to wikipedia, "Chickenpox has a two-week incubation period and is highly contagious by air transmission two days before symptoms appear. Therefore, chickenpox spreads quickly through schools and other places of close contact. Once someone has been infected with the disease, they usually develop protective immunity for life. It is fairly rare to get the chickenpox multiple times, but it is possible for people with irregular immune systems. As the disease is more severe if contracted by an adult, parents have been known to ensure their children become infected before adulthood."
15. Supposedly, if you get the once, you are not supposed to be able to get them again. But, I think it also depends on how severe the case was. It seems more and more that new strains are developing and people are breaking the old wives tales that most of us grew up hearing so I don't think there is ever a guarantee.