Pretty sure it's just random.
Coworker got it years ago. We had been in the field together, working closely, same vehicles, office trailers, etc. I sat next to him on the flight home.

He was miserable. I was fine

Hardcore Greg said:

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What are the risk factors? Poor immune system? Obesity? Or does it attack everyone without discrimination, on a somewhat random basis?

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Anyone can get it at any age, but the older one is, the higher the risk. This is why the shingles shot is recommended for people 50+.

Basically we cannot clear the chickenpox/shingles virus from our bodies. It is a herpes virus so it stays dormant on our nerves for the rest of our lives after the body has beat down the initial infection. The immune system keeps it suppressed, but if something weakens the immune system, the virus can come roaring back.

Anything which can weaken the immune system can increase the chances of shingles. Age, overall poor heath, long term stress, long term poor sleep, poor diet, immune system compromised by another illness (cancer, HIV, etc.), or even just recently fought off another major infection could open the door to shingles.

I had shingles from the spine, under the arm and to the sternum.
Very painful and had the anti-viral the day after it showed up.
Found creative ways to keep my arm from touching the blisters in differnt positions.
Lasted two months.

the thing I found interesting is you can't take the vax for a yr after having shingles.

Gunny456 said:

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If you get chicken pox you will then have the bug in you that can create the shingles later on. Trust me…shingles isn't a joke b

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Whatabout roofers?

pressitup said:

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the thing I found interesting is you can't take the vax for a yr after having shingles.

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Also, no need too. Basically if you've had shingles, your immune system has been rebooted and recharged and should be able to keep it suppressed for years. If one gets singles back to back, then likely there is an underlying problem with the person's immune system.

The single shot basically does the same thing. It exposes you to a piece of the virus to get the immune system going again. This is why you would want the first dose to put you on your ass for a few days because it means it triggered a strong immune response.

Rapier108 said:

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Hardcore Greg said:

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What are the risk factors? Poor immune system? Obesity? Or does it attack everyone without discrimination, on a somewhat random basis?

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Anyone can get it at any age, but the older one is, the higher the risk. This is why the shingles shot is recommended for people 50+.

Basically we cannot clear the chickenpox/shingles virus from our bodies. It is a herpes virus so it stays dormant on our nerves for the rest of our lives after the body has beat down the initial infection. The immune system keeps it suppressed, but if something weakens the immune system, the virus can come roaring back.

Anything which can weaken the immune system can increase the chances of shingles. Age, overall poor heath, long term stress, long term poor sleep, poor diet, immune system compromised by another illness (cancer, HIV, etc.), or even just recently fought off another major infection could open the door to shingles.

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Good info thanks. And dang, I always thought it would be a low % of adults who ever get shingles, just because the vast majority of people I know have never had it, but a quick search indicates that roughly 1/3 Americans will get it in their lifetimes.

If it gets on your head and around the eyes it can cause blindness. That happened to a good friend of mine.

I have had it twice. The virus medicine doesn't cure it. It just stops replication. One of the most painful things I've ever had.
I also had the vaccine but still got it again after that.

A co-worker of mine had shingles and was out for two weeks.

He said there was a 48 hour period in there he was laying in bed, crying and praying God would kill him. And he wasn't exaggerating - he truly wanted to die the pain was so bad.

I got the shingles vaccine that week.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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akaggie05 said:

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Got an email from my kids school yesterday about a chicken pox exposure in their 3rd grade class.. the f?

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That used to be considered an invitation

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I was wondering if anyone was old enough to remember chicken pox parties.

samurai_science said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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If yours are vaccinated what are you worried about?

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The measles vaccine isn't 100% effective and some kids can't take it.

I had it young in high school and again in my 40's….and nothing wrong with my immune system.
One of my dealers is healthy as a horse and has had it two times before he took the vaccine.
My doc said before the vaccine came out it was not unusual for people to get it more than once.

This. My dad had it horribly for almost three weeks.

Gunny456 said:

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I have had it twice. The virus medicine doesn't cure it. It just stops replication. One of the most painful things I've ever had.
I also had the vaccine but still got it again after that.

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yeah, that's what a couple of my doctors told me.
One told me he had a friend that had it multiple times and had the vax.

In my case, I take a biologic to lower my immune system. I make inflammation as a hobby.
One doctor said, "you're body just doesn't like you." I told him that was just one in a long list.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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akaggie05 said:

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Got an email from my kids school yesterday about a chicken pox exposure in their 3rd grade class.. the f?

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That used to be considered an invitation

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Absolutely. Several times when me and my brother were little, he's four years older than me. We were around kids to try to catch it.

I didn't get it till I was 33 and actually got the vaccination cause I was working at a hospital and they offered it (there was no chickenpox vaccine when I was little) and I thought well I've heard it's bad as an adult. Why not. It actually gave it to me. She said I was like the 1% of people that I got it from it, but it wasn't a bad case at all so in the long run, so I got lucky.

My brother caught it from his kids a few years after that and had the worst horrible case ever.

I never went back and took the second shot obviously.

The medicine you take for it is actually for Herpes. My doc has always prescribed Valtrex. Big ole blue looking horse pills.

I still haven't had the shingles vaccination. Many people tell me one of them is really bad. I don't know if I'm just tempting fate but still not planning to get it. But those that I know that have had shingles to say it's a nightmare.

annie88 said:

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I still haven't had the shingles vaccination. Many people tell me one of them is really bad. I don't know if I'm just tempting fate but still not planning to get it. But those that I know that have had shingles to say it's a nightmare.

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Weak-ass virus that 99.999999% of people don't die from.

It's nothing to take lightly if it manifest on your head and gets around your eyes. It can cause blindness as I posted above.

Teslag said:

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samurai_science said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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If yours are vaccinated what are you worried about?

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The measles vaccine isn't 100% effective and some kids can't take it.

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So its not a vaccine....lol.

So either way, the poster I replied to has kids that are unvaccinated? If his kids do get it, they will have real immunity.

fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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I'm not dismissing the problem with illegals, but if your kids are vaccinated, what is the issue?

If they're not, do you see measles as something horrific for your child? I thought tens of millions had this at one point or another. (I didn't; I had the mumps and later, in college, Chicken Pox. Talk about horrific).

fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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Stay away from illegals.
Don't forget TB and Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) which is endemic to Central and South America.

fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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But your kids should be vaxed, right?

EX TEXASEX said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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Stay away from illegals.
Don't forget TB and Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) which is endemic to Central and South America.

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There is a big TB outbreak currently at a school in San Francisco.

Leprosy is also endemic in parts of the US because of armadillos, but the number of human cases in the US very low; so when one does appear, it makes the news.

Grew up in an era where parents had measles and chicken pox parties for kids in order to get it over with. We survived and turned out fine. Now there is a vax for these things. That said, the more vaxes that have been developed and administered, the more other formerly rare conditions and illnesses have become more common.

The human immune system is pretty resilient and effective on its own. Make informed decisions and do what you think is best.

91AggieLawyer said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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I'm not dismissing the problem with illegals, but if your kids are vaccinated, what is the issue?

If they're not, do you see measles as something horrific for your child? I thought tens of millions had this at one point or another. (I didn't; I had the mumps and later, in college, Chicken Pox. Talk about horrific).

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A vaccine does not prevent infection.

Btw, I am not anti-vaccine.

Stress can trigger I had a particularly rough patch in Grad school and that triggered it

The doc at the Quack Shack has never seen shingles in a 25 year old and asked me several times if I used drugs or had other exceedingly unhealthy life style choices

Gunny456 said:

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The medicine you take for it is actually for Herpes. My doc has always prescribed Valtrex. Big ole blue looking horse pills.

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Yep, that's what I got for it. Thankfully works very well.

Yes it works but I think if the virus gets rolling only so much Valtrex can do for you

Sq 17 said:

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Yes it works but I think if the virus gets rolling only so much Valtrex can do for you

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Yep, have to get it quickly after the rash appears or it won't help.

samurai_science said:

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Teslag said:

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samurai_science said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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If yours are vaccinated what are you worried about?

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The measles vaccine isn't 100% effective and some kids can't take it.

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So its not a vaccine....lol.

So either way, the poster I replied to has kids that are unvaccinated? If his kids do get it, they will have real immunity.

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No vaccine is 100% effective.

Quote:

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A vaccine does not prevent infection

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It's amazing how many people don't know this. During COVID you had people claiming the covid vaccines weren't vaccines because they didn't prevent infection and only reduced symptoms or severity.

Teslag said:

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samurai_science said:

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fightingfarmer09 said:

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Bad part is the millions of illegals coming across the border are not vaccinated and their kids are put in school with your kids.

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If yours are vaccinated what are you worried about?

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The measles vaccine isn't 100% effective and some kids can't take it.

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Well, then it sounds like we should let those kids die. Based off the reasoning you and the other idiots used during Covid.

When did I say we should let people die?

Kenneth_2003 said:

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Pretty sure it's just random.
Coworker got it years ago. We had been in the field together, working closely, same vehicles, office trailers, etc. I sat next to him on the flight home.

He was miserable. I was fine

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I think a poor immune system can certainly contribute to it. I remember when I was little my mom had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and she was on chemo and radiation that knocked out her immune system. She had the shingles on both sides of her abdomen at the same time. It was rough, especially considering what she was already dealing with.