Medical Heredity Addendum

After posting thee Medical Heredityessay and talking with Berta, it became obvious there were medical conditions missed that need inclusion in the family records.  Topics that had been omitted were childhood diseases and headaches.  Childhood diseases were completely missed until discussing the essay with Berta.  Childhood diseases, such as Chicken Pox, Mumps and Measles do not necessarily have a heredity component, but should be included in the family history for completeness.  Previously, headaches were not addressed because of their common occurrence for everyone, and it was believed to be a personal issue.  However, chatting with Berta revealed that migraine headaches have been experienced by a limited number of family members, and has aloo been included for completeness.

Childhood Diseases

It is assumed everyone is familiar with the listed diseases and a definition of the condition is not warranted.  Those individuals that contracted the disease will be listed along with their age at the time.  Whether either my folks or Bev’s parents had any of these diseases is not known.  Perhaps Bev has knowledge about her parents.

Chicken Pox

Beta was told by Mom that she had the “pox” as an infant.  An incident is remembered when we lived in North Long Beach when Mom and I visited a neighbor to see their new born baby.  That baby had Chicken Pox, and perhaps one of us carried the disease back to our house.  Of course, neither Mom or I developed the “pox”, which suggests Mom had it as a child.  

Russ, Darry and Shannon are remembered as catching this one.  It is unclear if Darren ever had Chicken Pox.  Russ and Daryl were about six or seven when they had the “pox”.  Best that can be recalled, their cases were on the mild side.  Shannon was in Junior High when she had Chicken Pox, and her case was severe. Neither Bev or I developed the “pox’ after exposure to our kids.  This suggests Bev had it as a child, or both of us have a great immune system.

Apparently, for those individuals that had Chicken Pox, they are susceptible to Shingles.  Shingles is a severe rash that is very painful.  A friend of mine had Shingles at the age of 60 or 62.  It was on his head, and he was miserable for over two weeks.  There is a vaccination to prevent Shingles, but there is some medical dispute about it being effective.

Mumps

Both Darren and Shannon had the Mumps when they were teenagers.  Best that can be recalled, they had the Mumps at the same time. Since they were teenagers their cases were on the severe side.

Since I had never had Mumps, it was a very nervous time for me when Darren and Shannon had the Mumps. Being in your mid-forties and catching the Mumps, is not good!  Fortunately, my immune system worked a miracle and the Mumps were rejected. Best that can be remembered is that Bev was not concerned, because it is believed she had Mumps as a child.  

Three Day Measles

The medical term for Three Day Measlesis Roseola.   Roseola is a syndrome characterized by about 3 days of high fever followed by a morbilliform rash. Two subtypes of human herpes type 6 and type 7 herpes are felt to be responsible for most cases of roseola.  With more than one etiologic agent, roseola is better defined as a syndrome.  Unlike Chicken Pox or Mumps, Three Day Measles can re-occur.

As a child, I had Three Day Measles (TDM) about six or seven times.  At least, was Mom’s diagnosis.  All that is recalled is that there was a red rash all over my body.  Best that can be remembered is that these bouts with TDM occurred while attending Elementary School.

Migraine Headache

A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.  Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling.

Mom, Berta and I have always had severe headaches.  Berta’s description of Mom’s headaches and Berta’s headache experiences, caused me to classify their headaches as migraines.  From my perspective, the headaches last for hours, are debilitating and some have been accompanied with nausea and vomiting.  For me, a prescription medication is effective in stopping the migraine.

Summary Comments

There is no way of predicting if the childhood diseases or migraine headaches have a heredity component. Even if there is no heredity component, it is best to include them for future reference.  Do not hesitate to ask questions concerning both of the Medical Heredityessays.