Can you catch chicken pox more than once?
Dear Dr. Donya,
I have a roommate who caught chicken pox about three weeks ago. He was very ill, and suffered from a fever and aches in parts of his body, including his backbone.
The red spots were terrifying as they covered his entire body and were very large.
Two weeks later, I also caught the disease, but I did not have the same kind of symptoms. I did not have a fever, I had no pain and I only had a few small red spots on my body and face. Soon after that I went to a GP and he gave me some medicine, which I took as instructed. I recovered very soon, and could return to my daily routine as usual in a week. But my roommate has not recovered yet. My friends said I might catch the disease more than once because some viruses remain in the body, which I am worried about.
Please could you tell me more about the disease as I only have a little knowledge about it. Is it possible for me to get chicken pox more than once? Can we prevent the disease?
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you.
-- Syamsuddin
Dear Syamsuddin,
Immunity from getting chicken pox is lifelong. But in your case, if you took the medication, your body may not build natural immunity from chicken pox so you may have a chance to get the infection again.
There is a vaccine for chicken pox and if you are more than 12 years old you need two shots of chicken pox four weeks to eight weeks apart. The longevity of the vaccine is around eight years to 20 years prevention, with a 95 percent effectiveness in children, with a small drop in adults to 80 percent or 90 percent.
-- Dr. Donya
Dear Dr. Donya,
Until what age can a girl grow in height and what exercises help someone grow taller? And up to what age can breasts still develop?
-- Ash
Dear Ash,
Girls will grow an average of five centimeters more after they start menstruation and that will be the final adult height. The adult height is controlled by genetic factors which strongly influence the first two to three years of life. The birth length does not predict the adult height. There are three factors that predict adult height.
First, the height at two years to three years old may tell you how tall the child will be, such as a girl will have final adult height two times her height at two years old and the boy will have final adult height two times his two and a half years old height.
Second, the age that they start puberty and the earlier they get to the puberty stage, the earlier they stop. In other words, girls who mature early will be taller sooner and attain final height at a younger age.
Third, the adolescent growth spurt is also influenced by genetic factors.
Athletic adolescents usually have delayed puberty, the main reason being hormonal dysfunction from heavy exercise. But I would say daily exercise with nutritious foods will help generate growth spurts, such as swimming, running or any aerobics.
Breasts grow depending on when growth starts; it will take an average of three years to complete the growth period.
-- Dr. Donya