My brother says that you can get chickenpox more than once. Can you?Dear Dr. Cory: My little brother says that you can get chickenpox chickenpox or varicella Contagious viral disease producing itchy blisters. It usually occurs in epidemics among young children, causes a low fever, and runs a mild course, leaving patients immune. The blisters can scar if scratched. more than once. Can you? Nicole Nancitelli Springfield, Massachusetts Dear Nicole: It is very rare, but a person can have chickenpox more than once. Usually once a person has had chickenpox, he will not get it again. Chickenpox is caused by a virus. When you are first infected with a virus, your white blood cells White blood cells A group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies make antibodies to fight the virus. The next time that same virus appears, the antibodies remember how to fight it. They protect the body again. The same virus that causes chickenpox, a herpes virus Herpes virus Viruses that can infect the skin, mucous membranes, and brain, and they are responsible for such diseases as herpes simplex, chicken pox, and shingles. Mentioned in: Erythema Multiforme , can also cause an infection called shingles shingles: see herpes zoster. shingles or herpes zoster Acute viral skin and nerve infection. Groups of small blisters appear along certain nerve segments, most often on the back, sometimes after a dull ache at the site; pain becomes . Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus may hide in the nerve tissues "asleep" for many years. Later, the virus can "wake up" and cause shingles. This usually happens after the age of fifty and at a time when the body is under stress or weakened from illness or injury. |
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