Seems there are more "RARE" people out there than first thought eh, davey/miss_chief

The facts & figures speak for themselves really if you read all there is on the internet & in the medical books.

Read the link in Mark's post....very informative

My son just had them too for the second time in 6 years, not as bad 2nd time around though. I think its becoming a lot more common these days. maybe its time they brought in jabs to provent them like other countries do.

My sons friend had shingles last year when he was just 11 he was really ill with them too and he had to be hospitalised so its not just when you are older, which i have to admit is what i had thought.

Jackie15
i sympathise with your mum,
2 of my 3 sons had chickenpox while on holiday. My middle son caught them 3 weeks before we flew so was fine to fly
eldest sons spots came on day 1 of our hol
then youngest sons came on day3 what an utter nightmare he was covered from head to toe,
if i knew how to post picces i would stick one on, it was awful for him.

As a percentage I'd say no, definitly not. The facts & fugures speak for themselves

The facts and figures speak nothing....sorry
The problem is, that no one can give an accurate percentage figure because of a few factors and even the most learned specialists who were previously adamant that you got a lifelong immunity after the first attack, they are having to rethink their ideology on the subject.
In some individuals the first infection will be enough for the body's immune system to produce a degree of lifelong antibodies, but as the virus is never eradicated and sits dormant on the nerve endings near the spinal cord, then when conditions are right it can once again become active and manifest itself as shingles.

What is rare, is having full blown chickenpox twice, that's not to say to the posters of this forum that they hadn't had full blown chickenpox twice, but to compare both attacks, then you would have to record the symptoms against each other, EG: how many spots, the body temperature and other complications.... a high percentage would show that there are/were differences between the severity of both infections.
The first attack may have been a "mild" one, which only produces a few spots and in some individuals these may be missed amongst the systematic symptoms of other childhood illnesses.
The body produces enough antibodies to fight a mild infection, but, cannot cope with a second attack especially if the immune system is already compromised, then full blown chickenpox is recorded the second time around, but to the individual who "missed" the first infection, they think that they are getting chickenpox for the first and only time.

This also works the other way around, you can get a full blown attack first, in which the body will make some degree of lifelong immunity and when a second attack comes along, then the immune system is able to deal with it and consequently the second attack is mild and in some cases can be missed.

Statistics are only as good as the data collected and unless you had presented the patient to the GP, then no one will ever know the true statistics.

Quite simply if you couldn't get chickenpox twice, then you would never get shingles.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I too have had chickenpox as a four year old and again at aged fifteen. Later on, in my thirties and more recently, I've had a couple of bouts of shingles.Unfortunately it can re occur if you have a low immune system/are a bit run down.In my case,it's probably to be more expected,if you like,because I'm very badly Asthmatic (often on high doses of prednisolone/suffered with pneumonia a couple of times ). If you're generally fit and well ,don't think the risk is so great from what I've been told.

my 8 year old son has just been diagnosed with molluscum contagiosm which according to the doc is from the same virus as chicken pox. He has about 20 very small blisters. apparently it is contagious but harmless and as it does not prompt the body to make a lot of antibodies can hang around for up to 18 months. he has already had chicken pox

Ooo horrid condition. All mine had MC at some point. They do eventually go but it can take years. I used to put Fucidin cream on them because we had some at home and were told it might help.

help please due to fly in 7 days my 3 years old has chicken pox spots started yesterday if hes well enough will he be allowed to fly i did see some suggestions that a doctors letter might be required if hes well within hisself we are actually leaving in 2 days and will be away from home before we fly has anyone had this dilema before if worst happens does our insurance cover for full refund
thanks

Chickenpox and flying
I have pasted below info from nhs direct. Quite how you are supposed to know that your child has chickenpox before they get the rash though is a mystery to me!! As the notes say, you must check with your airline and insurance immediately and please if there is any chance he might still be infectious postpone your holiday. I had chickenpox at age 30 when I was 36 weeks pregnant. It was absolutely horrible.

From NHS DIRECT
If your child has chickenpox, they may not be allowed to fly during the infectious stage (two days before the rash appears until roughly five days after). This is because the air conditioning systems in aeroplane cabins allow germs to circulate easily, and the chickenpox infection can be very dangerous for people with AIDS, a lowered immune system, and pregnant women.
Your child should be safe to fly once they are past the infectious stage and the blisters have crusted over, but it is best to check your airline policy first.
You should inform the airline as soon as you have sought medical advice and had the illness diagnosed. It is also important to let your insurer know, to make sure that you will be covered if you have to delay or cancel your holiday, or if you need to extend your stay until your

this is day 3 with spots he has only got about a dozen of them so was thinking by next weekend (saturday) will be day 8 so there is no way it can stilll be infectious then in fact full recovery could be a possibility he is very well within hisself so was thinking if his health is ok i could fly actually glad the spots did appear on friday as he will not be contagious next week terribly dilema this not sure whats best to do

If you are allowed 5kg hand luggage weight and theres three of you travelling, can you combine your weight into one bag.

He should be fine by then but does he have any brothers or sisters that it could be passed on to ??

Please don't turn a blind eye to the info given on NHS website. It is better to check with your airline and insurance company as all will have their own conditions in place. Better to check now than get turned away at the airport if your child still has the spots.

Hi, this happened to my daughter last year, her son had got over the infectious stage and the spots had scabbed over so we thought he would be ok but after getting on the plane was made to get off as they did not have a doctors letter to say he was fit to fly, so make sure you get a letter to say he is fit and then you will be fine. Their insurance paid for the missed holiday apart from the excess, your doctor will give you a letter to say he is fit to fly or if not a letter for the insurance company saying he is not fit to fly and you have to cancel. My daughter got a letter an hour after getting off the plane to say he was fit and they managed to get a late deal leaving three days later.

yes but all have had chicken pox so should be ok hopefully by saturday all will be well many thanks

lady has given you a first hand example of what might happen even as late as getting on the plane. Why take the risk?

Bestfriend22UK

Please get a doctors fit to fly letter and keep and eye on the siblings. Although you say they have had chicken pox and many people think that they cannot catch it again they can. All three of mine had it withing a few days of one another. The middle one at the time did not get it as bad as the other two, with only propably a dozen or so spots.. When it was doing the rounds at school the next time it was the middle who faired worse, she had them absolutely everywhere and was really poorly.