> > I've never heard of adults catching Chicken Pox when they've already been exposed to it in childhood. But my entire family -- or most of them -- seemed to have experienced it again recently. [...]
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> The adult version of Chicken Pox is called Shingles. M-W.com defines it as "an acute viral inflammation of the sensory ganglia of spinal and cranial nerves that is associated with a vesicular eruption and neuralgic pains... "
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No, in this outbreak we adults didn't have Shingles. We had some pock-like illness that looked exactly like chicken pox, with little fluid-filled bumps appearing on the upper body/face. Someone I know who *did* once get Shingles had the classic symptoms: an intense 'shooting' pain down one arm (and sometimes down one side of the body), and skin blistering in the same area. It was extremely painful for him, and I'm glad we didn't get that.

According to literature, people who get Shingles are adults who are 50 or older. It's thought that the trigger that reactivates the chicken pox (varicella zoster) virus may be nothing more than one's own immune system beginning to weaken, as a result of natural aging. Emotional and physical stress are also frequently cited as causes, but I think of this as being largely anecdotal.

Now I'm kind of wondering if I have something that's more fashionably deadly, like diphteria. Right. It says here that diphteria is very contagious and attacks the throat and nose. (Sounds like me... I'm still choking and coughing a lot.) You know, the symptoms of diphteria are supposed to be severe sore throat (yep), skin lesions (some), and symptoms starting less than a week after infection (I guess). It also says diphtheria is very serious and can lead to fun stuff like breathing problems, heart failure, paralysis and of course death. Oh joy. Well, so much for that. :-)

Wolf "Asked my doctor about this, and she said, 'Don't be silly, you don't have Td.' Heh" spirit