it itches.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i managed to get the chicken pox. i had them when i was young, but i guess chemo resets all of that so here i am.

i recommend beer for the symptoms. in fact i recommend beer for the symptoms for anything.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

... it's wierd because i have the self control to train every night even on 2 hours sleep, but i can not seem to stop itching. i know it's supposed to make it worse but i cant help it.

[Brithlor]

You don't look so well in your picture ^.

[Cody]

Adult chicken poxhood is no joke. I had mine as a young un, under four.
Measles, I remember well. at 12 at 13. I don't think measles itches as much as c. pox. c. pox is in a class of its own. Out of this babbling comes a suggestion. I spent many "happy" hours applying calamine lotion when I was into measles. (Now it comes with additional anti-itch med.) Instead of scratching, I painted on the lotion. kept me from going nuts. and I was certainly busy.

speedy recovery,
Cody

[Brithlor]

Sorry, didn't mean to make fun of your situation... I had chicken pox when I was younger so I don't know what it's like to have it now.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

Sorry, didn't mean to make fun of your situation

lol ... i should be the last person you worry about offending. when i had cancer my screen name for first person shooters and the like was chemo *****.




I spent many "happy" hours applying calamine lotion

that's what i thought of too, but the *******s at the phamacy told my girlfriend that i'm not allowed to use it. just the oatmeal baths. i got to call tomorrow to find out why they said i couldn't use it.

[Cody]

? hmm. copied following from
http://dermatology.about.com/library/blchickentreat.htm

Chicken Pox Treatment - Soothing Baths
Frequent baths are sometimes helpful to relieve itching. Adding finely-ground (colloidal) oatmeal such as Aveeno can help improve itching. Oatmeal baths can be prepared at home also by grinding or blending dry oatmeal into a fine powder and adding about 2 cups to the bath water. One-half to one cup of baking soda may also be added to bath water to reduce itching.

Chicken Pox Treatment - Lotions
The most common lotion used for chicken pox is Calamine lotion. This or any similar over-the-counter preparation can be applied to the blisters to help dry them out and soothe the skin.

Chicken Pox Treatment - Antihistamines
Over-the-counter and prescription antihistamines may be used to control severe itching. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is available over-the-counter and hydroxyzine (Atarax) is available by prescription. Both of these antihistamines cause drowsiness and may be helpful at night to help the patient sleep. The newer antihistamines such as loratadine (Claritin), certrizine (Zyrtec), and fexofenadine (Allegra) can be used to control itching but do not cause drowsiness.

I also figured that Calamine is used for poison ivy and such running things, and might be good for c. pox.

Cody, sitting here with some variation of the flu

p.s. Sorry, didn't mean to drain humor here. my comment had to do with additional difficulties adults might have with the childhood ills. read about this stuff years ago.
I figure it's time for a smile too. :)

[GLW]

Virtually anyone can have a recurrence of Chicken pox. However, it is typically called SHINGLES. Years ago, they thought that you got Chicken Pox once and then you were immune from then. The reality is that it goes dormant and your immune system suppresses it...until something interferes with it or your immune system is weakened by stress, chemo, etc...

Then when it comes back, it can be a rash, a sore are of the skin and parts of the body, or full blow pustules like when you had it as a kid.

Steroids MIGHT help...but in the end, just like when you were young, you have to let it run its course and let your body sppress it. Anything you can do to strengthen the body and its immunities will help.

[Cody]

I hadn't realized that chicken pox and shingles were related. shingles is painful as all get up. I had a relative who suffered from it. I surfed briefly and came up with the following:

Shingles
After chickenpox, the virus never leaves the body completely but lies dormant in nerve fibres. It affects the nerves and other tissues of the skin. The condition usually starts with fever and burning pain in the areas connected with the affected nerve. Four to five days later a skin rash appears usually on one side of the trunk or face. The rash consists of blisters on a red area of skin usually in a stripe across one half of the body only. These fluid-filled blisters on the skin later form scabs which drop off within 2 weeks.

The disease tends to be more severe if the patient’s body defences against infection are poor, for example the elderly. Some patients may suffer from persistent pain for more than 2 months after the beginning of the disease. Their sleep may be disturbed and they may feel depressed.

Shingles near the eye needs treatment
If the shingles rash is on the forehead and down the side of the nose, the eye on that side is under threat and a doctor should be consulted for referral to an eye specialist.

The shingles rash can cause chickenpox
Shingles cannot be passed on to others as shingles, but it is possible to catch chickenpox from somebody suffering from shingles if you have not had chickenpox before. The blisters are full of chickenpox virus. Once the skin has healed, there is no further risk of spreading the infection to others.

The treatment depends on the severity of the disease. Mild attacks will be treated with painkillers like paracetamol or co-codamol. Calamine lotion put on the rash may help. In severe cases affecting the eye an antiviral drug, aciclovir, is necessary and must be started early. For the majority of patients with shingles elsewhere on the body, using antiviral treatment does not affect the outcome and is not necessary.

It quite often happens that the pain of shingles lasts for many months after the rash and blisters have completely healed, due to damage to the nerves.
__________________________

Anyhow, only a doc would really know for sure, especially under special circumstances where the immune system has been bounced around. I think that people have been know to get a childhood disease more than once. remember hearing about that some time or other.

Cody

[Meat Shake]

Its ok dude, Im groing a second me out of my genitals. I was taking a **** this morning, and saw an eye just there, just staring up at me. I was like "Oh ****... not again...."
I dont have money for another me, but Im growing one again, so I guess Ill have to feed it. Unless someone else wants to adopt it... or if I feed it to the dogs...

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

if you guys ever get it ill tell you something that helps a good bit. a hair dryer. it almost feels like itching them and i guess it would help try them out. since they said no lotion i just rubbed some of the oatmeal **** over the worse parts and tried it with a hiar dryer out of the bath. seems to be helping at least a little so far.

[Water Dragon]

smoke a blunt. you'll feel better.

[Cody]

For the life of me, I couldn't figure the anti-calamine stance.
It's recommended, second to oatmeal, just about everywhere I looked.
However, what seems to be around more commonly now is Caladryl (calamine + Benadryl). That is contraindicated in kids on one site, cause of possibility of Benadryl overdose. B. is an antihistamine. Assuming that this would apply to adults as well, I see no problem with straight calamine lotion, if it's available. interesting.

hope you're feeling better soon,
Cody

[David Jamieson]

glw is correct, the adult version of chicken pox is indeed shingles.

they are freaking painful apparently, I had a co-worker who was laid up due to shingles.

In some cases, adults getting chicken pox can cause an overload on the immune system and be fatal.

The chemo def resets your immune system gda, so you need to build it back up and take care in doing so. Good luck. (don't be a shut in, get out and be around people and all their various communicables)

cheers

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

glw is correct, the adult version of chicken pox is indeed shingles.

while i have never heard of a child getting shingles the two are definitely two seperate conditions caused by the same virus. it's just that most people do not get chicken pox twice. they get shingles second time around. all considered im actually lucky since i did get it twice instead of shingles.

shingles tend to be all on one side of the body running along whatever nerve tract it is effecting and hurt more than they itch.

im not a doctor, but that's what they told me and it's definitely not one one side of my body. though it does hurt now, but only when i move and cause the skin to stretch.

[Cody]

Correct, GDA.

best wishes for a speedy recovery,
Cody