The Allergy Epidemic

[ShadowHM]

I wasn't too worried about the chicken pox, but we still had to take her in to the doctor to get him to verify that she had it, so that we would be exempt from the immunization requirements. The nurses acted like she had the plague, and we had to go in through the back entrance. The shuffled her into a room and scooted out of there quickly. Luckily, our doctor has been practicing for a number of years, and he had a more relaxed attitude about the whole thing. He did ask if he could bring his medical student in to show him the rash, though, because he said that he didn't get to see many good examples of the chicken pox rash any more, and he wanted his student to be familiar with it.

I have a chicken pox anecdote too. :)

Chicken pox vaccines are not mandatory here (AFAIK). My two oldest have had it when they were 7 and 4. I was getting a bit concerned because the two youngest had not managed to catch it (they were not born yet when the first two had it).

Then, the third child got an odd rash on his face. He was prescribed antibiotics because it looked like a staph infection to the doctor near the cottage. It didn't get better. I took him to our family doctor, who carefully examined him, and then asked if I would mind if she called in her partner for a second opinion. They conferred and decided that it was shingles. I asked how that was possible, since he had not had (as far as I knew) chickenpox, although he had been exposed to it. The answer was that it is completely possible to have asymptomatic chickenpox. The rash eventually went away and the itch was mitigated by a topical naturopathic ointment. The good news is that it was a very mild case of shingles, and in a place where it was not chafed by clothing or mixed in hair, which are often the places where adults get it. And, even better, I now know that I don't have to worry about him getting chickenpox as an adult.

The jury is still out on son #4.... I *hope* he too managed to have an asymptomatic case. But I have no way of knowing.

Chickenpox is nasty for adults. My brother-in-law managed to catch it from my older children. He had been assured by his mother that he had had it in childhood, so he came over to visit when they had it. Memory can fail - she was recalling his two brothers, and his father confirmed that later. He had chickenpox on every square inch of his body (think about it :ph34r:) including his mouth and throat.

[kandrathe]

Chickenpox is nasty for adults. My brother-in-law managed to catch it from my older children. He had been assured by his mother that he had had it in childhood, so he came over to visit when they had it. Memory can fail - she was recalling his two brothers, and his father confirmed that later. He had chickenpox on every square inch of his body (think about it :ph34r:) including his mouth and throat.

My wife had Chickenpox in her mid 20's. She went to the doctor quickly, and they prescribed Acyclovir which is used to manage Herpes outbreaks and evidently minimizes the symptoms of Chickenpox in adults. She ended up only getting a mild case because of her early intervention.

[Occhidiangela]

My wife had Chickenpox in her mid 20's. She went to the doctor quickly, and they prescribed Acyclovir which is used to manage Herpes outbreaks and evidently minimizes the symptoms of Chickenpox in adults. She ended up only getting a mild case because of her early intervention.

Isn't chicken pox in adults called "shingles?" Or are they just related viri?

Occhi

[quote name='Occhidiangela' date='Jun 9 2006, 09:49 AM' post='111542']
Isn't chicken pox in adults called "shingles?" Or are they just related viri?

As to immune systems, we learned of a correlation between breast feeding babies and immune system development when we went through pre natal classes before our first's birth. Our instructor indicated that after two to three months, the benefits rapidly vanished. For our second round of that, the briefing was "after two to four weeks," the benefits (as compared to formula) for that facet of baby health are negligible. The La Leche League sings a different song.

I wonder what the state of the art is now? From the various posts on this topic, I daresay some of you would have died "on the frontier."

Occhi

[ShadowHM]

Isn't chicken pox in adults called "shingles?" Or are they just related viri?

Think of shingles as 'second-round' chicken pox. You can't get shingles unless you have had chicken pox. It has different symptoms. It *can* be very painful. (It was not so for my son.)

For our second round of that, the briefing was...

What I would like to know is why you felt the need for a second briefing. :blink: You don't strike me as a slow learner. :P

[Occhidiangela]

Think of shingles as 'second-round' chicken pox. You can't get shingles unless you have had chicken pox. It has different symptoms. It *can* be very painful. (It was not so for my son.)
What I would like to know is why you felt the need for a second briefing. :blink: You don't strike me as a slow learner. :P

I was dragged kicking and screaming to the second iteration of LaMaze, since I had had one already, but I would not be allowed into the delivery room/or the C-section (which happened as it turned out) without a complete new La Maze course. Why? Some effing insurance/HMO deal. :angry:

So, I got to be exposed to more and different new age stuff. I also met a lady who was still breast feeding her son, who was 3. :blink: Yes, she was a rabid member of La Leche.

Occhi

[kandrathe]

I was dragged kicking and screaming to the second iteration of LaMaze, since I had had one already, but I would not be allowed into the delivery room/or the C-section (which happened as it turned out) without a complete new La Maze course. Why? Some effing insurance/HMO deal. :angry:

So, I got to be exposed to more and different new age stuff. I also met a lady who was still breast feeding her son, who was 3. :blink: Yes, she was a rabid member of La Leche.

Occhi

I <strike>had to</strike> cheerfully went through birthing classes for both of my boys. :D As for breast feeding, my rule of thumb is... when they can ask for it, they are too old. There are probably benefits for the baby in the way of digestion and nutrients, but poor mom can't be expected to handle everything. Bottle feeding has been the standard way that we handled those times when it was impossible for mom. I've read a study that some nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids are supplied in breast milk, which help the babies brain develop.

Also about Chicken Pox (Herpes Zoster)... Your initial infection is system wide, then the immune system eventually wins but some virus can remain dormant in the spinal cord or a nerve fiber. Usually when later as an adult, when one is highly stressed or in an immune compromised state the virus re-emerges following the nerve and erupting near nerve ganglia. This virus behavior is also seen in HSV-1 and HSV-2. Anyway, that is why the 2nd emergence (as shingles) is so painful but less lethal.