• Question: is it worse for a child or adult to have a virus?

    Asked by bethan10 to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      often a child as they are weaker generally..however some viruses like chicken poox it is better to get as a child as a) the disease is less severe and b) its easier to distract a young child from scratching than an adult and that is experience talking there

    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      it depends on the virus and on the individuals. Generally speaking children do not have a fully developed immune system and sometimes suffer more.

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Very young children are more vulnerable to viruses than adults as their immune systems are not fully developed.

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      A young child will not have a very well developed immune system so it would be worse for them to get a virus than an adult who will have some mechanisms to help fight it off. However there are viruses that are worse to get as an adult for instance chickenpox. An adult can get very seriously ill with shingles (adult version of chicken pox).

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Generally worse as a child- the immune system isn’t as well developed, so less likely to be able to deal with the virus effectively.

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