Why do people only get chicken pox once?

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you are all in my heart forever	your body becomes immune to it. however, some people have a mild case and can get it again. this happened to my son. he was only a couple weeks old when he got it the first time. when your older you can get shingles. it's a variation of chicken pox. even if you had chicken pox you can get shingles and it's extremely painful. it attacks the nerve endings Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

punk/alternative/rock listener	I think it is because we eat too much chicken? that's how we become immune. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Joaniewithcats	It is a fact that people only get chicken pox once; however, the virus can lay dormant for years and can come back as "shingles". Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

deepthinker	You're body builds up an immunity to it. However, there have been cases where a person has gotten it twice because they didn't get a severe enough case the first time. They have a vaccine for it. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Shrikant K	Once we get chicken pox our body develops defence mechanism / immunity for the same and we don't get later. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Kimberly	You can get chicken pox more than once. It depends on how bad you get them the first time and on your immune system. Also, if you haven't ever been exposed to chicken pox and you are around someone that has "shingles" then you could get chicken pox. If you have had chicken pox and is exposed to shingles and don't take basic universal precautions (hand washing) then you could get the "shingles". By the way, shingles hurt really bad from what I have been told by people that have had them. By the way, if you are pregnant and expose you unborn to who ever has them (within 3 feet) then you risk your unborn's health. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

JM	you develop an immunity to the virus so if you come in contact with it again your blood cells fight the virus so you don't become infected. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

drkanam	Following an attack of Chicken pox ,we get immunity, as in case of other viral infections. But one can get Herpes Zoster attack by same virus, later.In this condition a small area on one side of body alone is affected. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

me	I don't have a link....but it is because your body becomes immune to the disease Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

pride as a quincy	white blood cells attack the pathogenic (bad) cells that cause it, and immunity B cells are released trying to bond with an antigen on the chicken pox pathogen, when it does, a signal is sent to the T cells to make antibodies once the invading pathogen is destroyed, the T, B, antibody, and a few white blood cells turn to memory cells wich will destroy the pathogen quicker before it can be more harmful it IS technically possible to get it twice if you have bad immunity the chicken pox virus has mutated very little in the years, so the memory cells still have no problem destroying the invading pathogens Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Richard S	You can actually get them twice. But that would be only because the first case was really mild. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

formerly_bob	Once you get chicken pox, the virus remains in your nerve cells for the rest of your life, so additional exposure to the virus has no effect. In most people the virus remains dormant after the initial outbreak, but it reappears in some people as shingles. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

saskia r	Because you're white blood cells develop anti-bodies against every virus that enters your body. Chicken pox is the same virus every time again, so when it enters your body for a second time your body has the anti-bodies ready to kill the virus immediately. Most viruses survive by changing a tiny bit every time so your body doesn't have the exact anti-bodies ready t fight it. That's why you can have fever for many times. And the minute your temperature in your body starts rising it's your body making the new anti-bodies. Fever changes shape, I think. That's why you can't have it again after a day you've had it. So you have it once now and then, but never twice in one week. My mum explained this to me so many times using the examples of little soldiers in my body fighting the enemy and that they can only fight one sort of enemy. So there, I have never had chicken pox, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed never to get it!!! BTW (Doctors are now injecting children with a part of a virus so the child's body will start making the right "soldiers" to attack the virus when it really comes along. Same priciple, it's easy and completely natural. Your very own medicin against a virus.) Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Troy B	The body develops immunity to the chicken pox virus. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Bill R	i have heard of people getting Chicken pox more than one even3 times. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Gareth T	Your body becomes immune to the virus. The only reason you keep getting flu/a cold is because there's many different types. Most have the same symptoms. But there's only one kind of chicken pox virus Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

♥☺ bratiskim∞! ☺♥	Usually your body builds up immunity to the disease because after you've gone through it the virus remains in your system. I however, caught the disease twice. It itched for quite a while but after that, I was bored. I had to stay home for and missed the last weeks of the school year. I did get to make pancakes for me and my little cousin since both of us were down for the count. Adults who've had this disease can develop shingles later in life if they experience a high level of stress. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Miguel c	because you develop immunity after, like falling in love :) Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

hotie3663	i don't no because i never had chicken pox.sry. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

mcelhinp	after one time your body produces antibodies for the virus Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

M.M.	I have no links for you but people can get chicken pox more than once actually! My freinds mom got it twice! Reason behind most people only getting it once is because they build up an immunity to it! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

DONNA L B	You only get chickenpox once because your body builds up a resistance to the virus. However the virus is catch-able in the strain for shingles. There is now a shot that can be given to prevent shingles and is advisable especially for older people. I myself had shingles, it attacks the nerves in your body and it is very painful. So if you have had chickenpox you are susceptible to shingles in later years. Check with you doctors for advise on getting the shot or not. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

GMK	The body produces a resistance in the form of antibodies that keep a person from getting smallpox again. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

GoldenHaze	Your immune system builds anti-bodies against the disease. Basically it's like after you get rid of it once there is still a very minute trace of the disease left in your body. That minute trace acts a counter and if it enters your body again your immune system is ready for it and already knows how to destroy it. It gets destroyed so fast you'll never even know you had it again. You can sort of compare it to a cop having a picture of a killer and if he sees you on the streets he will take you down. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jesus	Well what happens is your white blood cells produce antigens for each type of bacteria or microbe so when that certain chicken pox virus comes along it creates the special antigen, but when a new virus comes in to ur body your white blood cells learn to make that special antigen to destroy the virus. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

xdkd123	Actually you can get it more than once. My dad had it twice, i know alot of people who have had it twice. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

smtrodent	They don't, necessarily. Usually people only get chicken pox (caused by the varicella zoster,virus)once, because after that one attack, the immune system recognises it as soon as it appears in the blood stream and kills it before it can breed enough in our bodies to make us poorly. Once you get the virus, you have it, but it usually stays dormant in other tissues and doesn't cause harm, for years and years. Some people, like me, are unlucky enough to get chicken pox twice. More commonly, the same virus can 'wake up' in people who have had chicken pox before to give them a very, very, very nasty and painful rashy illness called 'shingles' (herpes zoster, and how sad is it that I am not a doctor and didn't have to look that up) which attacks the nerves and causes a lot of pain and can even paralyse those affected. (One reason to get annoyed at people who think their children 'should be exposed to get it over with'. Not only does it cause permanent scarring, it leaves them open to shingles as adults. It is not harmless.) Since you asked for a link, here is one from a proper governmental medical site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chickenpox.html and a site that site links to: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/chicken_pox.html and what YA answer would be complete without a wikipedia link? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenpox Although the wikipedia is claiming that the vaccine can give 20% of people shingles later in life, so I am dubious as to its accuracy. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/vaccines/193.html lists no such side-effect and I would rather the vaccine than the bug! http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/immunization/ChickenpoxFacts.htm is a last link for luck and a try for ten points. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Flame 187	Not true coz i had them 2wice when i was a kid !! :( Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Kizz	Your body builtds up a defense against it after having it Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Cheyenne S	Theoretically it's because your body builds up immunities the first time. But, my son actually had the chicken pox twice! Once when he was 2 and again when he was 6. Chicken pox in adult males can be very bad! It can cause them to become sterile! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Spiritualseeker	The virus leaves its prototypes which last too long, and which works as a vaccine too, and also due to the scope of our body to develop strong immunity antidotes too! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No