Prevent Type 1 diabetes by taking this

Getting chicken pox as a child is usually not a big deal, but can be deadly for an adult. I was infected with chicken pox when I was in college (I think I caught it from a contagious child that was brought to the office). I became extremely ill and was in extreme pain. Shortly thereafter I started losing weight and muscle, and my eyes would burn. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic required to take insulin injections for life. A nurse in endocrinology told me what probably caused my pancreas to malfunction, was the chicken pox virus, which attacked my pancreas and damaged it permanently.

While no one knows for certain what causes Type 1 diabetes, it is theorized that viruses are the culprit. If I could go back in time to get the chicken pox vaccine called Varicella, I would, and I might not be an insulin-dependent diabetic today.

If you’ve never had the chicken pox, definitely get the vaccine. When I turn 50, the first thing I’m going to do is to get the shingles vaccine called Zostavax. People have gone blind and had permanent nerve pain from shingles. The Zostavax vaccine reduces the chances of the chicken pox coming back for round two to attack.

Photo: me

Additional sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/varicella.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-diabetes-cliffhanger/

https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Diabetes/juvenilediabetes.aspx https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20180212/new-shingles-vaccine_what-you-need-to-know

Additional notes: Since Type 1 diabetes is a autoimmune disease, where, in many cases, the body attacks itself, my case was not so, which supports the theory that the chicken pox virus is what caused my pancreas to stop performing at full capacity.