JuliaD Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Before you all take the opportunity to tell me about your roofing problems, let me make it clear I'm talking about dermatological shingles. I came down with shingles of the forehead on March 2nd. While I wasn't "deathly" sick, or in "horrid" pain, I have to say it's one of the scarier things that has happened to me in my life. The shingles were below my eyebrow line, and there was a real possibility of them going into my eyes, which can result in blindness. I had some very sharp "shooting" pains in my head. My forehead looked like... well, in the beginning, I had a huge red lump on my forehead, 2 weeks later, my forehead looked like someone had glued soggy rice krispies to it. I was lucky in many ways, my eyes were not affected, and while I did experience some pain, I didn't have nearly the amount of pain some shingles sufferers get.I'm back at work, tho the redness and irritation aren't 100% gone. This condition hit me lightning fast, and I'm curious to know if anyone else here ever had shingles, and if you did, how and where did they develop? The most frequent location is around the waist, but they can occur literally anywhere in the body that has a nerve path. Mine sort of looked like I had a big red check mark on my forehead, beginning at the hairline, going down to the eyebrow, then making a "V" back up toward the hairline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Marshall Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Glad to hear you're on the mend Julia. So you don't want to know about our roof then? Redone last February? Pretty interesting? No? OK...Keep on keepin' on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 JuliaD... yep.. I've had em... Very painful at the time. My rash went from about my sternum around the left side of my body, across my back and was staring to head around the right side of my body. There was concern that it could join up and create real problems apparently. That was about 4 years ago. It took about 2 months to properly settle down.I still have times when parts of my back get REAL itchy and I have to get Kiwi to give it a REALLY HARD scratch to relieve it. If she did it as hard on any other part of my body it would really hurt but when it itches the skin seems to lose it sensitivity. Sometimes, if I itch during the day, I back up against an corner of a wall or door frame and rub my back against like an old cow rubbing against a fence post Might look stupid but it does the trick.I hope yours settles quickly and you don't have too much irritation in the future.Muzza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozmik Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Had them on by back near my waist. They're caused by remnants of chicken pox virus in your body and can flare up during periods of stress. Before we knew what they were, when we thought it was an allergic reaction, my wife applied Benedryl frequently to my back. It turns out she never had chicken pox before and subsequently got chicken pox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT from Mo Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I had them too but they showed up in the most unusual spot - my armpit. It was originally diagnosed as a bug bite. The pain was sharp, shooting and they only thing that relieved it was cool air but just for a minute. I saw another Dr and he did a culture and it was HSV - Human Simplex Virus - or chicken pox variety. I had a steroid cream to put on it and it helped. They still have the "rice krispie" look about them but they're better. Cozmik is right they flare up during times of stress.Hope you feel better.HT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Shingles can be very nasty. Hopefully you took an antiviral (if you didn't and the symptoms re-occur, go to a doctor!).My mother had a very bad case --on her thigh. Even though she took an anti-viral (apparently not soon enough) the nerve endings were destroyed and she's in constant pain. I was with her when this happened, and since my pediatrician was never sure I had chicken pox as a child (based on my limited reaction) I was sent off to get the chicken pox vaccine. Based on how I reacted to the first shot, I never went back for the second.For those of you who have had chicken pox, look into whether you should get the vaccine --some doctors feel that the vaccine will reduce the chance of shingles occuring in the future, or if it does, to reduce the severity. Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Ouch! Never had them, but know lots of people that have!Take care and hope you're on the mend and feeling better fast!Blessings,Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuliaD Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Oh, for sure I saw a doctor, this is one time when my being a bit of a hypochondriac paid off... I got on Valtrex almost immediately, as well as keflex to prevent a bacterial infection of open blisters. My gp and the dermatologist said I am doing amazingly well for having just gotten them this month, altho I will have temporary scarring for about 4 months. However, I did just develop slight swelling on my nose and one cheek yesterday... went to the doc today and found out I've got a large nasal polyp! Back to antibiotics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bessieboo Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 My Hubby has had shingles three times.The Doctor told him you can only get shingles once. He changed Doctors after a second opinion confrimed it was shingles. Hubby seems to get it when he is under a lot of stress. You are right to keep a close eye on any changes, especially when it is so close to your eyes. I hope you heal quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecstasy Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Oh Julia, I really hope you're feeling better soon! It sounds like you got on it right away and I hope the Valtrex does the trick for you. Some of these viral things are miserable! I've got Epstein-Barr which goes in and out of remission. I've been like this most of my life. It turns out I was misdiagnosed with the flu sometime as a child when in actuality it was either mono or strep (both in the same family which leaves Epstein-Barr in your system permanently.) And yes, it definitely flares up due to stress, exhaustion, or illness. How's your immune system generally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I got the Chicken Pox in my late 20's. It wasn't that bad...No Shingles, but sometimes, when listening to an EC rocker, I still get the Hippy Hippy Shakes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnniekNY Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Julia I am very glad you didn't get the pain associated with them - I was just reading last night that 50% of Amer icans who have had chicken pox will get shingles.Tony, you crack me up!! My kids got the chicken pox 2 weeks apart and my brother (in his 20's) called me and said he didn't feel well and had blisters on his chest: yup, he got the chicken pox from my kids. My hubby was away on a business trip for a week at the time so I was taking care of 2 kids and my brother! He got a pox the size of a silver dollar on the side of his face...weird. Then my hubby came home and HE had the chicken pox (looked like acne)unbeknownst to him and had flown on 4 airplanes infecting everyone!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT from Mo Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 WoW! Annie. Chicken pox isn't anything to mess around with.Tony,What do you consider to be a bad case of Chicken pox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Took a few days off work, felt a bit dizzy, soaked in the tub with some kind of anti-itch stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlene Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 You guys are bringing back all the bad memories...I had the chicken pox when I was 32. I got them from treating a little asthmatic patient in the emergency room who just happened to have chicken pox! YIKES ! Talk about miserable... Julia, glad to hear you seem to be feeling better so quickly ! Take care of yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannoman Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I am just catching up on this thread, Julia. I had shingles on my back many years ago. It was extremely painful for about 6 weeks. The second occurrance I was quicker to identify and got immediate medication which stopped the outbreak after 2 days. Glad you didn't have a lot of pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuliaD Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Thanks, Ted, I got really lucky. I did have some complications, the rash itself ran its course in about 3 weeks, and while it was as itchy as itchy can be, it was nothing "unbearable". After the rash began subsiding tho, I got facial swelling and lymph node swelling on the right side that was somewhat painful, but again, nothing I couldn't tolerate with tylenol. The doc had given me a prescription for Neurontin, but told me not to take it unless I needed it, it's pretty powerful stuff, intended for post herpetic neuraglia. I filled the prescription, but never took any of it, as tylenol worked just fine for me and I saw no need to overmedicate.I still have some residual "side effects" of facial shingles in that I have some tingling and a feeling in my cheek like I blew up a lot of balloons, if you know what I mean... it's because the facial nerves are "excited" and need some time to calm down. It's not extreme, and as shingles go, things could have turned out SO much worse that I just feel lucky to have done as well as I did with them. The doc said the minor irritation still visible on my forehead may last about 4 months before it's gone completely, no big deal. Some days it looks better than others, and I've found the more I wear my eyeglasses, the more irritated my eyebrows get... I clean my glasses with alcohol, but I guess just having the plastic frames touching the irritated skin is enough to make the irritation go nuts. I wear my glasses when I absolutely have to, wash my face with Aveeno a lot, and trust in nature to get me thru this... it'll be okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecstasy Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Julia, I'm so glad to hear that your recovering so well!!! It sounds like you'll be feeling back to normal soon and will be rejoicing that you're still and always have been your lovely self! Be well, sweetie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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