Childhood Diseases
By Sharon
@simone10 (54189)
Louisville, Kentucky
August 16, 2020 5:39am CST
With this rash I have been dealing with lately, it had me thinking back on some of the childhood disease I have had. When I was growing up, they didn't have vaccines for these diseases like they do now. You just had to suffer through it.
The first childhood disease I had was chicken pox. I had it when I was a baby and it was a very mild case. I was lucky as it can cause scarring. I think my Mom said I only had a few breakouts.
The second was measles. I do remember feeling very sick. Both my sister and I had it at the same time. My Mom used an old remedy told to her by a neighbor. She gave us whiskey as that was supposed to bring out the spots. She said it worked, but I don't remember.
The third was mumps. I was around 11 or 12 at the time and I do remember the pain from it. I had to stay away from my step father as he had never had them before. It was supposed to be worse for men but I didn't know why at the time.
I have had hives twice that I remember. Once when I was in grade school and it was supposedly from eating too many strawberries. I don't know because I still eat them with no problems. The second time was when I was 16 and I was going through a difficult time with my Mom. It was caused by stress. My doctor gave me medication and I had a reaction to that which made it all worse. My doctor met us at his office and gave me an injection which helped immediately. Not sure what it was but the hives went away.
What about you? Have you had any childhood diseases? I know they have immunizations now that keep children from getting most of these diseases.
28 people like this
28 responses
@MALUSE (69390)
• Germany
16 Aug 20
I grew up in Germany in the meagre post-war years. I had chicken pox, measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever and then another disease whose name I don't remember. What I remember is that I was still in Kindergarten and had to lie outside in the fresh air.
5 people like this
@LadyDuck (460346)
• Switzerland
16 Aug 20
I think I had all children diseases, the sooner you got them the better, so later you did not lose school days. I am not sure that vaccinating kids is such a good idea, I have the feeling we were a lot healthier. Now they get a cold and they are sick for weeks.
4 people like this
@LadyDuck (460346)
• Switzerland
18 Aug 20
@MALUSE We lived in an apartment, but with the other kids, we played in the inside courtyard of the apartments building. If we had a cold or a flu, we stayed in bed with a chicken soup, I cannot remember we ever had medications and I am sure we were healthier because our body knew how to fight the germs.
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69390)
• Germany
18 Aug 20
In some households there is too much hygiene nowadays. And children hardly play outside. I, like all the other children from the neighbourhood, always played outside in the street. We lived in a cul-de-sac street. So there was no traffic and private cars didn't exist in the meagre post-war years.
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69390)
• Germany
18 Aug 20
@LadyDuck My mother was a nurse first and then became a teacher at a school where she taught future nurses. When I was ill, I always got calf packings to get the temperature down or throat packings, even chest packings.
I remember that I once went to her school to fetch her and accompany her home. The future nurses were just learning how to bandage certain limbs. The practised on each other. When they saw me, they all came and wanted to bandage me. Soon I looked like a mummy with bandages from head to foot!
2 people like this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
16 Aug 20
I think I had measles when I was in grade school but no chicken pox or other child disease like mumps.
4 people like this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
19 Aug 20
@simone10 those diseases can leave scars.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Aug 20
@Alexandoy Chicken pox can definitely leave scars.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118795)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Aug 20
The only one I know of that I had was chicken pox. I had it when I was in kindergarten, and I remember it very vividly. I even remember when I first started itching, it was on a Sunday night and my mom had tucked me and my brother into bed (we slept in bunk beds). I remember being a little itchy, then the itching got worse, and finally it was enough that I climbed down out of bed and went into the living room to tell my mom how itchy I was. At that point I could see all the bumps all over my body. They weren't there when I went to bed an hour earlier. It came on fast and strong. Pretty crazy how I remember something so vividly from when I was 5 years old.
4 people like this
@JudyEv (326601)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Aug 20
I had measles, mumps and chicken pox. We were immunised at school against diphtheria, whooping cough, polio and tetanus. When we went overseas, we had smallpox and some other inoculations. Some countries have diseases that aren't found here.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (157865)
• United States
17 Aug 20
We were vaccinated or innoculated for polio, whole families lined up and got it on sugar cubes. We also got small pox vaccine.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (326601)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Aug 20
@simone10 @GardenGerty I've just realised we don't have smallpox scars so we haven't been inoculated for smallpox. I guess it wasn't an issue in the countries we were going to at the time.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157865)
• United States
17 Aug 20
I do not remember much about having them, but I had "three day measles" and "German measles". I had chickenpox when I was eight, have a few scars, then went to school two days then had mumps. They said to feed me whatever I would eat. I got to have tomato soup, and grape juice. LOL. Never was diagnosed with strep nor hives. I would get the croup when I was young. Mom would make a "tent" out of my brother's crib and put me in there with a vaporizer. I remember having the flu once as a ten or eleven year old--that was awful. I have had it a few more times and that is why I get the shot. Since I know I had chicken pox I am prime to get shingles so I got that shot too.
3 people like this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
17 Aug 20
I had measles and chicken pox before I was a year old, I had a brother 6 years older who liked to share lol. I had mumps in elementary school. That’s it for me no hives.
3 people like this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
20 Aug 20
@simone10 My brother surely made sure that happened with me lol
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (48635)
• Canada
16 Aug 20
I had chicken pox when I was young, and the mumps as a young adult. I was very sick when I got the mumps, adults should never get a childhood disease as you suffer worse with it as you age.
I was hospitalized 3 times the summer that I turned 12. Twice they misdiagnosed a brain tumor, and I was so very ill. The third hospital stay was to have surgery for it. I remember being so weak and so ill. I could not keep anything down, my waist measured 11 inches, my bowels stopped worked and in the end I had double vision. The tumor almost took me by causing half of my body to stop working, but they claim that they literally caught it hours before that occurred.
I have never taken good health for granted after that. You see a lot being a patient in a hospital for sick children, things nobody should ever see, cries nobody should ever hear.
3 people like this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Aug 20
@wolfgirl569 Mumps weren't any fun at all. Painful from what I can remember.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (96390)
• Marion, Ohio
19 Aug 20
@simone10 I didnt get mumps either but my cousins did
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Aug 20
@thelme55 Normally the only time my asthma acts up is if I have a cold. But, over the past 3 months or so, I have wheezing every day. My doctor heard it when I was there last week. She is putting me on some kind of inhaler to use every day.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (158498)
• United States
16 Aug 20
I remember having all those childhood diseases. Having the chicken pox is why I had a horrible case of the shingles when I was in my 30s. Thank goodness for today's vaccinations. We get the flu vaccine every year and have had the pneumonia and shingles shots. Have a great day.
3 people like this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Aug 20
@LindaOHio I'm so sorry. Mine was very mild. It could be because I also had a very mild case of chicken pox when I was a child. I hope you have a great day as well!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (158498)
• United States
19 Aug 20
@simone10 I'm glad you're getting the shingles shots. I had a horrific case of them and don't want to go through that again. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
1 person likes this
@jayanth_77 (7180)
• India
16 Aug 20
I have had all the disease you mentioned and even typhoid , jaundice and malaria . It's indeed tough for parents when their kids fall ill.
3 people like this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Aug 20
@jayanth_77 I've heard that malaria can have lasting effects. I hope it hasn't with you.
1 person likes this
@jayanth_77 (7180)
• India
19 Aug 20
@simone10 yes typhoid and maleria are pretty serious disease which make you very weak and takes several weaks to recover.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (86976)
• United States
16 Aug 20
Oh yes I have had all the ones you had there the same.
2 people like this
@jstory07 (135092)
• Roseburg, Oregon
17 Aug 20
I did not have anything when I was a child. I was never sick. I had all the shots that you need to go to the Asia countries and Europe. Maybe all those shots protected me.
I have never had the flu. I do have allergies and break out if something is in the air.
2 people like this
