Adult Chicken Pox Not to be Ignored

While chickenpox in adults is not likely to lead to your death, it is much more dangerous than if you get this common disease as a child.

The dangers of chicken pox in adults is actually more than just being a bit more uncomfortable. Experiences with the illness are much more dramatic when contracted as an adult than as a child.

Anyone who has not already had chicken pox or received the vaccine is susceptible to contracting it. Journalist Barbara Walter is currently hospitalized with chicken pox at the age of 83.

"Adult chicken pox isn't just inconvenient," CDC Dr. Richard Besser said. "It can lead to complications such as pneumonia, brain inflammation and bacterial infection and even if you  had the chicken pox, you're still able to get shingles, which is caused by the same virus.

"If you're over 25, there's a good chance you didn't get the chicken pox vaccine, introduced in 1995," he added. "If you didn't get the vaccine and never had chicken pox, about 30,000 adults get chicken pox every year. It's spread through the air."

Over 90 per cent of people worldwide will become infected with the chicken pox virus during their lifetime, unless they are vaccinated against it.

The virus is more likely to strike individuals during the winter season and up to early spring, but it can infect individuals during any time year.