Shingles
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Written by Jim on June 16th, 2005 with
139 comments.
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My daughter broke out in what I thought was a rather strange rash, that she stated was painful. At first I thought it was some kind of bug bites, but there were quite a few and there was no itching involved, so it left me rather perplexed. To top it off, I thought that it resembled chicken pox, but there was no puss or fluid in the bumps. I took her to the family doctor and she was diagnosed with shingles. I was told that it was caused from a case of chicken pox that she had when she was 2 and a half years old and that the virus actually lied dormant in her system. She is 12 years old now. I took some pictures of her wrist/arm and elbow where she has broken out and emailed them in so that others could see.
Hi, I was looking into why I have been getting mysterious burn marks on my body, and shingles came up. I was reading some of the replys people have sent, and thought I would add some comfort to anyone who reads this. Last summer, by boyfriend, 34 years old, was playing golf, and he retrieved a ball from the bush. Later that evening, he was all itchy. We automatically thought it was poison ivy. By the next morning, he had a rash, a fever and had severe pain and a killer headache. I have never seen him like that before. By the end of the second day, his rash started to turn to a cluster of pus filled looking blisters. He had it in the shape of the mask from the Phantom of the Opera. It was so awful looking. We got him into the Dr. and was diagnosed with shingles. Lucky for him, cause the Dr. said, had he come in the next morning, he could have gone blind. They we out of control and heading into his eye. It took about 6 weeks until the headaches subsided. And let me tell you, he was in so much pain.
For those of you who question if it is bad to get them at younger ages than 50, be assured that you can get them at any age. My boyfriend is a completely health conscience person. The Dr. told him it was stress. He was told that shingles normally develops in an area of nerves, where there is stress.
He didn’t scar at all, which was a miracle. With how bad it looked, I thought for sure he would need plastic surgery to fix it. Just remember not to itch it. Do as the Dr. says and leave it alone.
for LuAn. That looks like cellulitis. It is bacterial and it’s dangerous. Cousin to the flesh eating disease.
I have just had shingles in my ear. OW! Pain is still there after two weeks.
Does this look like shingles?
I am hoping its a benign bug bite that will go away soon.
Any help? Thanks
oh details:
I can only remember back to a couple days ago when I felt a bit of an itch on my shoulder. I scratched it once or twice. I didnt think twice about it. Then, yesterday morning I peaked at it and found this. It is only on my right shoulder. It doesnt itch very much. I havent scratched it all day and it hasnt grown since.
I’m 21 years old and i currently have shingles/just got over them. I got a itch on one side of my body and i thought i was having an allergic reaction to something. I scratched not thinking it was anything that benadryl wont fix. There was no rash, but the pain was so bad i couldn’t even begin to describe it. No rash formed some small red bumps that was it, the doctor gave me valtrex and prednisone. My last pills are tomorrow, i just hope it doesn’t come back. As soon as u feel pain go to the doctor, i never go and it was that bad. The faster they catch it, the better shot you will have avoiding the whole rash.
luann,
That picture sure looks like a bacterial infection..soooo much like what my son had on his face..that spread…He looked like the boy on The Mask..with no bridge to his nose. I had to take him to soooo many Drs..Immunologist, athritus, Environmental allergies, Food allergys, several Derms…and finally ONE great Dr. told me it was bacterial after taking a biopsy…finally!!! Antibiotics cleared it up!!!
Ehhh…I’m 21/female and i just got diagnosed with Shingles…it’s the worst pain in the world! I’m on medication for it right now, but I was wondering if anyone has heard of putting burrow’s solution on it to dry it out and stop the itching? I feel like ripping my skin off!! Its so hard not to scratch.
Thanks,
Dana
I have shingles on my face. It started last Sunday, my front teeth ached ( I thought it was a sinus infection). I woke Monday morning with a cyst next to my nose ( I thought it was cystic acne). Tuesday I had another cyst but it felt like a singer was in it. I went to urgent care on Wednesday and the doctor could not tell me what it was he said I had too many symptoms (Teeth hurt, swollen Lymph node, puffy face on the right side, and a lot of pain) he put me on an antibiotic and I made a follow up with my primary on Friday. My Doctor knew it was shingles so he toldme to keep taking the origional antibiotics and also put me on Bactrim, Valtrex and a hydrocortizone cream. It is Sunday now the swelling has gone down a little but I am still in a lot of pain. It is difficult not to itch. I am miserable. I have seen pictures of others worse then me. I really feel for them.
My mother in law (70) did her blood test three months ago and all her tests passed including thyroid etc.. Three weeks ago, she went to the clinic for shingle vaccine. About four days later, she went for another blood test and she was told that her thyrod leve is 100. As we were told the normal level of thyroid is somewhere around 4. This is a major jump from 4 to 100. Her weight has not changed and she feels very normal. Whatt I need to understand is, can the shingle vaccine create thyroid problem. Also after the shingle vaccine, she noticed that her eyelids are puffed up. Is anyone aware of any relationship between these two? Can the shingle vaccine cause thyroid issues. Thanks for your input.
I had shingles early this year on the left side of my face. It started on the ear (painful) and spread to my cheek, temple and brow area, sneaking close to my left eye. With Zovirax, I was able to get rid of it.
Now I have it on the right side of my face, but this time it didn’t rash out as much. Doctor prescribed Zovirax again and I’ve just taken my first dose. I wonder if I might have something different, since the rash seems to be just in one small area, but the numbness and pain spread across the right side of my face. There is some swelling around the eye and a couple of swollen lymph nodes in the cheek and neck.
***ATTENTION lORAINE SHEAFFER*** PLEASE READ MESSAGE AT END OF MY POST! THANKS!
I had something months ago that looked like a ringworm. I treated it with fungal spray and it finally went away. I went to my nurse practitioner on Aug. 10 because I had a really bad sinus infection with thick mucous drainage in my throat. She gave me 500 mg augmentin 2 times/day for 10 days.. Last Thursday, I went to see a doctor because I had a really sore throat and lots of drainage . He gave me Azithromycin 500 mg (twice the usual dosage) and told me to take it for 10 days, also twice the usual dosing time. I started taking the antibiotic Thurs after the Dr’s appt, and started having awful shooting, stabbing, almost like being hit by lightening, the pain went from under my ear/jaw bone up behind my ear and up through my hairline in my head to the top. I would put my hand over the painful place and put pressure on it which helped limit the pain at that time. I’d been coughing sometimes, specially at night, but this didn’t seem to be a chest type cough. More like a cough caused by a tickle in my throat, and the soreness in my throat around and under my left tonsil kept hurting, even though I’d been on antibiotics for 6 days already. I returned to see my nurse practioner today because of the sore throat and pains. Another thing I’ve noticed is that my throat really hurts when I drink anything cold! I usually mostly drink water or iced tea too and both burned, as well as a coke and today a sprite burned too, and EVERYTHING I drink tastes nasty or like the soda is dead anyway! Not sure about this, a first for me and I didn’t think to ask my nurse practioner about it today.
Sometime in the last week, 2 weeks at the most, I got several small red spots on my neck in that same area where the ringworm was. I’ve used meds on it, but its not disappeared . I mentioned the rash to her and she looked in my head and found one or 2 more patches of stuff that she said looked like it was blistering, as well as a place at the outer corner of my left eye that I didn’t even realize I had, although its started itching today too. She said she was pretty sure it was shingles, and that as many antibiotics as I’ve taken since Aug 10 that a regular throat infection or strep would have done gone away by now, so that makes her think shingles even more. She gave me valtrex to take for 7 days 3 times a day. I have had trouble sleeping a few times. I wake up and the side of my head is hurting, and I toss and turn a bit until I can get situated better. THe fact that I use a CPAP and wear a mask with headgear to hold it in place on my head and face doesn’t help things either.
loraine…… Just want you to know that I called back to my nurse practitioner today to see if my sore throat could be because of the shingles, as I had no idea if you could get them in your mouth or not. She says you CAN get them in your mouth! So that explains why my throat still hurts after all the antibiotics! Sure hope you and EVERYONE who’s had, has now or gets Shingles in the future gets over them ASAP… I just hate that I had the throat soreness since about Wed. Aug. 19, and didn’t know then that it was not a throat infection, and that I had all that awful shooting pain from Friday til Monday before I went back to see my nurse practitioner and learned what I had. I’ve read that its best if you get drugs for it within the first 72 hours, and hope and pray that that doesn’t leave me with more problems
Good luck and God bless you all!
Anyone wishing to contact me may do so at
nanette_ww@
hotmail.com
To lorraine sheaffer
We are traveling and my wife has developed some symptoms. She started about 4 days ago. At the beginning she has nerve pain on the head when she touches her skull and then on her right arm bunch of small itchy red bumps show up. They are filled with liquid after a day or two and the symptoms also appear on her right thumb. There is no red bumps on other side or other part of her body. I am attaching some photos . We would really appreciate If someone can help to identify if it is shingles and give some advice.
I’m 32 and just had shingles myself! I was one of the many that thought I was bit by something until the pain was unbearable! Mine too weren’t as large as others photos. When i get a chance i will upload. Mine was on my neck. The pain started right below my ear and moved down my neck and around. I knew something was def wrong when my one gland in my neck was about the size of those bouncy balls! Rash is now gone, but glands are still slightly swollen and noticeable just by viewing. By the way, the only one visible to me was on my bottom of my cheek bone, rest were behind my ears and in my hairline all in the same region. I did get a severe ear ache too. is this common?
I was diagnosed with shingles a few day before my 18th birthday??? I felt pain on my left thigh and buttocks and then the next day in the shower i relised there was a dark red rash a few days latter i started to develope blisters it is very painfull. It was a week after my first tattoo so i was worried this had something to do with it so i googled it and shingles popped up i ignored it unti i went to the doctor and she diagnosed me with shingles! Its been almost a year and i still have bad scars
I started with a rash on Sept 15. and now it Sept 20. I thought that I just touched something at work that I was allergic to. Its asmall rash on my right arm. There is no pain just insane itching. I think it may be shingles. I work at a high school library and touch hundreds of books each day. With that many kids you never know what you can get. I plan to see doctor first thing tomorrow.
My grandpa developed shingles many years ago, and my mom recently started to. Both were able to avoid the severe pain and most of the blistering by going to a good chiropractor. I know it sounds nuts, but if you find a good one that knows how to deal with the problem, it works, or at least it did for both of them. I’m not any kind of medical professional, but I see no reason why anybody should have to suffer through this horrible thing when something may help it. If it works, I’m glad I could help, if not, at least I tried.
Jessie 16mths, never had Chicken pox but could this be Shingles?
No symptoms and localized.
xxx
I wanted to post a response to #7 above. . .yes you can get shingles multiple times in your life. I am currently 24 years old, female, and I am in the beginning stages of an outbreak of shingles. This will be the third time I will be getting them. I am completely healthy, have no medical problems at all, and there is no explanation as to why I have them AGAIN! It is just a mixture of stress which you may not even realize your body is under.
I am a college student and everyone around me is sick so for the past few weeks my body has been boosting my immune system so much as not to get sick that it finally gave up and shingles came about. I had them once when I was seventeen on my arm, once when I was 20 on my back, and now at 24 on my arm again. There is no rhyme or reason as to why it occurs but if you catch it early, I have found that Valtrex an antivirul helps A LOT to shorten the duration of the blisters. Hope this was helpful!
I woke up one morning and felt my eye lid a bit funny…so i touched and and it kinda felt like a scrape, i look and i had about 6 tiny blisters over my eye lid…its been a few days and its gotten a little bigger and now i have headaches and i cant feel the right side of my face. Im worried , i don’t know what it could be..anybody know?
My pain began in my mouth, horrible sores that hurt so bad that I got headaches for days. It actually felt like I had an infected tooth. I started to get a horrible pain in my neck, literally. It feels like I have a bad case of whip lash. I now have huge bite like sores on the back of my neck and into my hairline. Could this be shingles? Makes a lot of sense after reading some of these cases. My heart goes out to all, it feels horrible.
Hi Everyone,
I’m not sure what exactly this skin irritant is, but i’ve had it for over 3 months and i’m tired of it . All your help will be wonderful. I hope is isn’t shingles…
I’m 40 and was diagnosed with shingles on Oct. 22nd. 3 days prior to that I woke up with my right arm feeling so sore, I thought I had just slept on it wrong. Also, my skin hurt to the touch almost as I were getting the flu. The next day I found a small rash on my neck that continued to swell and get bigger and redder. That rash continued down my right arm.
I started Zovirax on Oct. 22nd. along with 800mg of Motrin every 8 hrs. which has helped immensely. The rash is decreasing in size and not as swollen. The medicine is drying it up and it is going away. Hopefully the pain will go away with it.
I care for a 86 year old lady who was diagnosed with shingles 2 years ago. The rash and pain is gone (has been since about 3 weeks into it) BUT she ITCHES like crazy! It is enough to wake her from sleep, the doctors have prescribed a topical steroid cream but I really don’t think it works, she still itches very bad. I find a lot on pain and shingles but really nothing about itch. Since the only symptom she has is the itch, I have a hard time understanding the shingles diagnose.
what do you think?
Any advise would be great
THANKS!
I have been getting what I thought were bug bites but now know them as shingles for over 8 years. I got my first bought on my stomach. But then after that I would get them on my thighs and my bottom. It is the most painful in that area because I work a desk job and it is hard to sit with that. Mine come when I am stressed. Which has been a lot lately. I am going to have to go back to my doctor for meds because this is too much for me to deal with.
Hello. About 5 days ago i was having a sharp pain on my right side by my rib cage.. that went away after 3 days of dealing with that. Now Whenever i touch that spot or wear my bra its so sensitive there. Its really tender & i dont know what it could be. I also have what feels like to be a muscle pain right under my shoulder blade on the same side. People are telling me it sounds like shingle symptoms, but i dont have a rash or anything else. Any Advice? thanks.
I have had a blister like rash…painful and swollen on the back of my neck…clusters. i have been to the ER (8weeks ago) treated w vancomycin and then sent home…then treated with clindomycin and even had a lesion biopsied. the biopsy came back as staph. Still don’t have any answers and i’m in pain. I tried to pop them in the beginning but nothing but a clear fluid came out.
i have shingles i was diagnosed with it 1 day ago it started off small on my chest area and i scratched it a lot. Until the next day i noticed it on my arm and back i told my parents and we went to the doctor. It was identified as shingles and my gosh its painful. I cant sleep, arm hurts when will it get off anyone know.
I think I have shingles too. I had head aches, the runs, tingling pain under my right arm pit and lower right shoulder blade. It itches so bad. At first I thought it was a bad reaction to my deodorant, but it only happened on one side so I ruled that out. The only thing that soothes me is soaking in the bath tub. I had an increased urge to take 3 to 4 baths per day before the rash appeared. They looked like clusters or patterns of bumps. I’m 34. Its been about 3 to 4 weeks now and the scabs have formed. Hopefully it will hurry up and end.
I’m 36 years old, and I woke up three months ago with a patch of bumps on my right hand, which I thought was a spider bite. It ballooned into a huge blister. My GP misdiagnosed it as dishydrotic ezcema and my dermatologist as MRSA. I walked in saying it’s either a spider bite or shingles but neither caught it as shingles. Then the awful pain set into my neck, armpits, breasts, shoulders, joints, and upper back, and I felt like I had rheumatoid arthritis or bone cancer or something. The pain was bizarre and nothing short of miserable. What’s more, it was bilateral, meaning the pain was whole body, even though I just had a blister on one hand.
Now, after three full months I’m getting a recurrence on my middle finger of the right hand, where it started, and also my left hand. I was concerned about a predicating illness, so I got tested for HIV and Hep C and was negative for both. I am extremely healthy and eat a whole foods diet, take supplements, and run and lift regularly. I just wanted to write this to let others know that it can happen to you if you’re young and healthy and it can occur on both sides of the body, and it can also recurr soon after it heals. Acupuncture, massage, and lots of sleep are the only things that have helped me get past the neurological pain.
I just got told I had shingles. They had almost gone away and they came back almost worse. I’m emotional and I’m miserable.
I have had shingles 6 times! Always on my fingers, forearms and around my neck. Last time I had them the doctor insisted they were insect bites; so to be sure he biopsied a blister. Guess what? Came back as shingles!!! He said it’s strange where I get them and how they look, but it is shingles. Now I have a prescription on hand for when I feel the “tingle”. I currently have them again, 2 days after Christmas. I had them 2 other Christmases, too. Any time I am under stress…I get them.
I had a very mild case of chicken pox as a kid, 3-5 chicken pox. I have a spot on my back that is under the skin. It itches and sometimes has a burning or stabing pain. But no blisters. Have had it about a week. Could it be shingles or a cyst? It is just under bra on left shoulder blade.
I thought I was getting a pimple on my temple (sensitive to the touch) but after a few days it was way bigger than that. Maybe 2 or 3 pimples? But instead of turning into pimples, it just became a red spot about 1.5″ in diameter, filling the space between my eye and my hair line. It was a little swollen but it hurt ONLY when I pressed on it or crinkled my facial muscles. The pain seemed to be related to the swelling, not on the surface. After a couple days, I began to wake up with a big puffy bag under my eye, and the eyelid itched like crazy, but wasn’t really read. The doctor is treating me for shingles, even though I’ve had no other symptoms and no real pain. The photo shows 3 sores that have crusted over. It’s 10 days after the start right now, and it began getting better yesterday. What the heck is it???
I am 30 years old (not over 50 as what is commonly mentioned). I realized I got Shingles because I took 2 steroid packs about a month before I started getting the symptoms. I was taking Prednisone for a tennis injury. I just want to set some of the people who are young at ease, so you don’t think you have HIV. If you’ve taken steroids, the main side effect in a weakened immune system. Mine started out as a pain like someone had scratched me on my left hip. The next day the pain felt like a diaper rash and started burning in the crevasse from my left hip under my stomach and ended on the top left side of my pubic area. 3 days later I developed a small rash at the top of my pubic area. I was afraid it was an STD since it was in that general region. My Dr. said it was Shingles because of the characteristic “band” of pain and itching that came before the rash. So it really sucks and the worst pain feels like it’s in the muscle and bone of my left hip. What’s weird is that my rash hasn’t blistered. They are just red flat bumps and are only in about a 2 inch circumference. So all those scary, crazy pics must be really bad cases. I started taking anti-viral pills and an ointment within 2 days of seeing the rash form. So maybe that’s held off the blistering. Who knows….maybe I’ll eventually see the blisters. I’ve had the rash for 5 days with no blisters so far.
I have had this on my lower back off and on for 6 years. It starts off as a rash that itches really bad then it turns into a puss filled scab. I am not sure what it is as I have never been to the doctor to get it checked out. The fact that it comes and goes in the same spot each time is stange to me. I will upload some pics. It any ideas what this could be please let me know . THANKS!!!
MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT YOU CAN GET SHINGLES A SECOND TIME AND MY PHARMACIST AS WELL, THAT SHINGLES COMES BACK MANY TIMES SOMETIMES. CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THE COMMENT WHEN YOU SAID IT DOESN’T COME BACK AGAIN??? I HAVE IT AND THE PAIN IS HORRID. MY RASH ISN’T AS BAD AS MOST I HAVE SEEN HERE, BUT THE PAIN, THROWING UP, SICK HEADACHES AND ALL AROUND AWFUL DIZZY OFF BALANCE FEELING IS VERY DIFFICULT DEALING WITH. AND I AM NOT A WIMP. I’D LOVE YOU TO NOTIFY ME WHEN YOU REPLY ON MY COMMENT PLEASE? OH, USUALLY I READ ALSO THAT SHINGLES NORMALLY ONLY OCCURS ON CERTAIN OR ONE AREA OF THE BODY. MINE IS THE TORSO AND CLOSE AREA TO IT ON MY BACK, BUT I HAVE A COUPLE ON MY INSIDE ARM AND SHOULDER AS WELL. I DO NOT SCRATCH AND THE RASH NEVER HAD OPEN BLISTERS. I KEEP CALAMINE LOTION ON IT THICKLY.
All I can say i am 60 years old had seven children had cancer surgery folks I have never had pain like shingles! I pray daily for all the people out there who suffer with this . I can’t believe we hear no research about this painful painful junk
I got shingles almost a week ago. I did fall on ice while visiting NC two weeks ago and hurt my spine. I am also under lots of stress. Mine started one week ago today with sensitivity on my back area. That lasted two days then welps arrived on my right chest and right back. Now they are under my arm as well. The blisters came about 3 days later. Pain is awful not explainable. Mine are still growing. I am taking 2tbls of natural vinegar 3 times a day. I also soaking the rashes with the same natural vinegar. I am taking llysine, vit C vit B super strength. Today is the first day I can actually sit around and not in bed. I am tired and have slept alot the past week. I am on no meds at all. Treating them holistic. I am 54 years old. I pray to God I never get this ever again. Also have a pregnant daughter so I cannot see her. Mine look identical to the pictures that are already available on this site. If anyone has answers email me at fussnfrill [at] aol.com