It is a disease that Pablo did not think he would catch at 27. The varicella occurs mainly in children, regarding nine in ten cases, compared to only one in ten cases in adolescents over the age of 15 and adults. When she is developed adult, it can however be more serious and cause many complications.
Pablo, a young developer living in Tours, caught it in the middle of summer at the end of June and when he was not even aware that he had not contracted it as a child. The young man therefore took a few days to realize that he had caught this childhood disease. “After two days of fever, headaches and fatigue, the first pimples appeared. So it wasn’t until the third day that I understood”, details Pablo.
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I had pimples all over my body
Paul, 27 years old.
One point questions him especially following the diagnosis: the route of contamination. The young man does not know at all who might have transmitted to him chickenpox. “No no idea. No one around me has contracted it,” says Pablo. In terms of symptoms, the most difficult was fatigue and itching. “I had pimples all over my body. Especially on the torso and back as well as on the forearms mainly, but also on the face”.
Apart from the itching, what was the most complicated to manage for the Tourangeau was “fever as well as a lot of fatigue”. “With the right treatment, the itching is bearable”, however, wants to put the young man into perspective.
It is the physical fatigue that is very difficult
Pablo.
About the duration of symptomsPablo tells Medisite that “it’s the physical fatigue that is very difficult” in the long term. “Regarding fever and headaches, there was a big spike on the first day of the appearance of pimples, then it remained very light the rest of the disease”, details the young man. Knowing that childhood diseases are often more violent when caught in adulthood, the concern regarding possible complications was great for the developer. Adults affected by chickenpox may develop complications as :
- superinfection of the vesicles
- pneumonia a few days following the rash
“According to my GP, there was a 16% chance of serious respiratory complications. If the disease is left untreated, it can cause death. So a bit of concern necessarily”, recognizes Pablo.
Chickenpox in adults: no sequelae apart from scars
The disease being very contagious, he had to isolate himself “a whole week while being sick, then two weeks to protect himself from the sun and isolate himself from UV rays in order to avoid healing problems”. More than a month following his contamination, the young man today has no serious sequelae of the disease, with the exception of the scars of pimples. “I am very well. Other than pimple scars that take time to fade, I haven’t noticed anything on my end following the chicken pox.” concludes, reassured, Pablo. Above all, the young man encourages the population to get vaccinated if they know they have not contracted the disease as a child.
