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Article: Ask Doctor Cory.
- Article from:
- U.S. Kids
- Article date:
- December 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Children's Better Health Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Dear Dr. Cory:
Why do we have to have chickenpox? It is very boring, I've never had it before, Why is it called chickenpox? How can a person with chickenpox pass it on to a healthy person while standing next to them?
Anna Nishanian
Granada Hills, California
Dear Anna:
There are three theories about how chickenpox got its name. One theory is that the Old English word gican, meaning "to itch," is the source of the word "chicken" in chickenpox. A second theory is that the term "chickenpox" came about because the chickenpox skin rash/blisters look similar to the cicca pea. And a third theory is that the word "chicken" is ...