Generally, no, most people cannot get chickenpox twice.
Once you have had chickenpox, your body typically develops immunity to the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is the cause of the illness. This immunity usually prevents you from getting chickenpox again.
Life-Long Immunity Explained
According to information on the topic, in most cases, you can only get chickenpox once. This is referred to as life-long immunity. After the initial infection, your immune system 'remembers' the virus, allowing it to fight off future exposures effectively.
Rare Instances of Re-infection
However, while life-long immunity is the norm, it is possible, though rare, for a person to get chickenpox more than once. These rare cases are sometimes seen, especially if the individual was very young when they had chickenpox for the first time. A very mild initial infection might also, in extremely rare situations, result in less robust immunity.
Summary Points
- Most people: Only get chickenpox once.
- Immunity: The first infection usually provides life-long immunity.
- Rare exceptions: Getting chickenpox a second time is possible but uncommon.
- Risk factor: Being very young during the initial infection may slightly increase the rare chance of re-infection.
It's important to note that the virus remains dormant in the body after chickenpox and can reactivate later in life to cause shingles, a different condition. However, shingles is not the same as getting chickenpox a second time.
