Shingles

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:28am

Anyone on here ever had them? I got diagnosed with them yesterday, and want to know what to expect. They don't hurt, curiously enough.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:30am

Wow, seriously? I'm sorry.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:32am

Yup, seriously. Apparently if you've ever had chicken pox, you're a candidate for shingles. Who knew?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:35am

So are you home sick from work or are you being a trooper? I found out this, too:

What is Shingles?
Shingles (herpes zoster) are an outbreak of rash or blisters on the skin that is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox - the varicella-zoster virus. The first sign of shingles is often burning or tingling pain, or sometimes numbness, in or under the skin. You may also feel ill with fever, chills, headache, or upset stomach. After several days, a rash of small fluid-filled blisters, reminiscent of chickenpox, appears on reddened skin. The pain associated with shingles can be intense and is often described as "unrelenting." Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for shingles. Scientists think that in the original battle with varicella-zoster, some of the virus particles leave the skin blisters and move into the nervous system. When the varicella-zoster virus reactivates, the virus moves back down the long nerve fibers that extend from the sensory cell bodies to the skin and cause the characteristic blisters of shingles .

Is there any treatment?

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valcyclovir, or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful after-effects of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia. Other treatments for postherpetic neuralgia include steroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and topical agents.

What is the prognosis?

For most people, the lesions heal, the pain subsides within 3 to 5 weeks, and the blisters leave no scars. However, shingles is a serious threat in immunosuppressed individuals — for example, those with HIV infection or who are receiving cancer treatments that can weaken their immune systems. People who receive organ transplants are also vulnerable to shingles because they are given drugs that suppress the immune system.

What research is being done?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct shingles research in laboratories at the NIH and also support additional research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. Current research is aimed at finding new methods for treating shingles and its complications. Recently, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a nationwide trial — the Shingles Prevention Study — to study an experimental shingles vaccine. There is hope that scientists are close to creating a vaccine capable of preventing this painful condition.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:37am

I've never had them, but my Dad did. He was lucky with a mild case. You have to be careful, though.

I hope you feel better!
That's rough...

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:40am

I've had them and I'm sorry that you have them. They are painful and itchy at the same time. Check with your doctor, because shingles deals with neurological aspects of your body and you may continue to have the sensation long after the bumps are gone.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:46am

A few years ago, I had pain in one eye, whenever I would blink. I also had the sensation of pain, whenever I put a brush through my hair (on one side of my head.) In the morning, I was looking at my scalp, trying to see if it was irritated and I found little blistery red bumps on the upper forehead. I forced my way into a doctor's appointment immediately and was diagnosed as having herpes zoster (shingles). The above mentioned medication was prescriped stat and I watched it spread across the nerve route on the right side of my upper face. I was sent to the ophthalmologist's office to make sure my eye was not affected.
I was lucky and fully recouperated in about ten day's time.
I know of people, mainly those who did not take the medication as soon as symptoms appeared. They suffered greatly from post herpetic neuralgia which is very debilitating and can last for years. Taking the medication in a timely manner usually lessens the severity of the episode. I was under the impression that I never had chicken pox in my childhood. This was a big surprise.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:52am

i had a very mild case about a year and a half ago, a small patch on my back... i originally over-reacted, thinking it was west nile, because it had started by feeling like a mosquito bite... i went to the doctor and he told me that had i come to him when i first felt it, he probably could have relieved it, but he gave me a prescription, telling me it probably wouldn't help, but couldn't hurt either... they were gone in about a week...

a co-worker had a severe case all over her torso, and was in pain alot of the time...

my brother also had it several years ago, but he is so closed-mouth about his life tat i don't know what he went through...

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:54am

Did you mean if you've NEVER had chicken pox, or EVER had chicken pox? I had chicken pox when I was 8 but it was a very mild case.

Updated On: 4/12/05 at 11:54 AM

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:57am

if you've had chicken pox, you're more susceptible to shingles, is what i've heard... i had the pox when i was in the first grade... but to my knowledge, my brother never had them... i know my co-worker never did either, which may be why it was much more severe in her, as she didn't have the atibodies in her system already, like i did...

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:57am

Ever. If you've had chicken pox, you can get shingles.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:57am

Well, the good thing is that I first noticed this patch on my stomach on Saturday -- I thought it was poison ivy or something. Like I said, it didn't -- and doesn't -- hurt or itch or anything. Anyway, found it on Saturday, was in to the doc on Monday, so I hope I acted fast enough. I have it on the right side of my stomach -- and it circles around to my back. Very weird. Doc said it can be brought on by stress, but I don't recall being very stressed out lately. Is it possible that your body can feel the effects of stress, but mentally you don't recognize it as stress? Hmmmmmm.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:59am

S**t.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:06pm

rlb, i had a very mild case... it itched like a mosquito bite, but mildly hurt when i touched it, but when i touched it, it made the itch go away at least...

[Kimmygonbefamous]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:10pm

My best friend had a really nasty case of it last year. She was in bed for about 2 weeks. Nasty stuff, shingles.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:30pm

Oh, I am sorry. I hope you don't suffer too much. It sounds as if you didn't let it get out of hand before seeking help. Don't get stressed out because of this. Try to take it easy and don't let the horror stories scare you into making it worse. Drink lots of water and for Pete's sake, don't pick at it!

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:22pm

Actually, you are probably going to be in a world of pain and misery. When I got the chicken pox at around age 5, my mother, who never had them, got shingles and couldnt get out of bed. My grandmother had to come take care of me and the Waltster....



She was in really bad shape. Good luck, and God Bless.

[JLagow]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:31pm

I first had them in August of 2001, just over a year after I had a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, I had been off immuno suppressive drugs for six months.

The lesions were on my face diagonally from my left eye to my lower right cheek. I was fortunate in the my mom saw them, suspected what they were (didn't tell me) and told me to tale some of my antiviral medication. When I went to the doctor the next morning, sure enough - Shingles.

And, even with taking medicine right away, it was terrible. Every time my face would come into contact with anything, the pain would ricoche through the nerves in my head. It was horrible! I also had to go to an opthamologist and take drops to insure there would be minimal damage to my eye. And, when I was recently examined to have cataract surgery, the doctor found minor damage in my left eye from the Shingles. I can't say it enough - it was horrible.

The second time, 18 months later, was much milder. Actually, it is supposed to be much milder if you have it again.

I would advise you to get plenty of rest, take ALL of your perspcription and stay home if you feel bad.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:54pm

I hope you feel better!

[dancersmom2]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:55pm

You are very lucky that you are pain free. One of the hallmarks of shingles (or varicella zoster) is pain. The chicken pox virus (varicella) remains dormant in spinal nerve root after your initial bout of chicken pox, usually in childhood. When it reactivates because of stress or another illness or bad luck, it only affects the skin supplied by that nerve. That's why the rash is usually only in a band on the face or around the back to the front.

Remember you are contagious to others that haven't had chicken pox until all the lesions are dry and crusted over. Our daughter caught chicken pox after my husband had shingles.

Good luck.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 2:00pm

Yikes! I hope you feel better!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 2:02pm

Mine were a small patch on my back, about an inch wide. I would roll over in my sleep and wake up immediately in such pain! Every once in awhile, I feel the twinge on my back where they used to be.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 5:55pm

I've had them and my case was really PAINFUL!! They were primarily on my back and it felt like someone was shaving slices of my skin off with a very sharp knife- wow, I have a way with words tonight!!
Seriously, I hope that you're case is mild and I believe that there are new meds. available that can help the pain( I had them over 20 years ago, and like childbirth, I remember every moment of the pain!).

[diana rigg]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 5:57pm

This is My Fair Lady. I got a mild case last year when I was only 12 and it hurt.

[MaTakeALookAtMe]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 6:49pm

My dad had them and said they were painful.