Thomas asks…
I have a question about {possible} shingles in a teenager……?
My 15 year old daughter is getting a rash on her side that looks as if it could be the beginning of shingles. It itches but is also very painful. I touched her about 2 inches below the rash and it hurt her really bad there, too. I am taking her to the doctor first thing tomorrow to find out exactly what it is but I just wondered if anyone knows the beginning signs/symptoms of shingles. Any help would be appreciated. I can find pictures of it and a description of what it is but not really any details of what it feels like when getting it. Is there anything I can do to help her feel better tonight?
Wow, I love it how people who talk so big on here are always the ones who have their e-mail blocked.
I am not asking anyone to diagnose her, I am only wondering about what it feels like in the beginning. Of course if anything were going on that I was worried about or if she were in a lot of pain, I would take her in tonight instead of first thing in the morning. Read the entire question. And I thought that this is what this was here for. To get answers from people who may have had experience with things that you haven’t. It’s not like I came on here and asked about my 3 month old child who hasn’t eaten in three days and has a 104 fever and what should I do. If you don’t like to answer simple questions and be helpful to others then stay off of Answers.
admin answers:
My daughter had shingles once….and yes, she had chicken pox as a child.
She described the beginning stage as extremely painful and a burning sensation in the area that broke out.
You are right in getting her to a doctor. About the best you can do is keep anything from touching the area while she sleeps tonight and maybe some tylenol.
Betty asks…
What happens if I don’t take medicine for SHINGLES?
Okay, so I guess after doing my own diagnosis and looking up pictures and reading symptoms, I’m pretty sure I have shingles. They are these little blisters and rash on the right side of my hip and it is only on that one side. I also have constant throbbing/stabbing pains and they don’t hurt THAT much, but it is noticeable.
Anyways, I’m sure it’s been more than 72 hours since the rash appeared. Actually I think it’s been about 4 or 5 days now. I thought it would just go away because I thought it was acne but I guess not. I don’t think I can visit a doctor tomorrow, but maybe Tuesday. If I do not visit a doctor and take the prescribed medicine/anti-biotics, what will happen to the shingles? Will they just go away in a few weeks? I read that they will just crust and flake off, but it can lead to long term damage in regards to skin damage and nerve damage. Is it imminent to see a doctor, even if it is 5-6 days later? The reason I also ask is because it’s a big deal for me to see a doctor (I have to not go to school [I’m in university] and take the day off work)
admin answers:
My dad had untreated shingles. A grown man crying in pain is not a good sight.
Sandy asks…
I have a question about shingles..someone please help!?
I have recently been diagnosed with the shingles. I am very paranoid that I have been misdiagnosed. I have been having pain and the sores hurt and itch and burn. But the sores don’t look like pictures that I have seen. I feel as if I am getting worse. Now I feel pain all over not just where the sores are. Also I have been running a fever, aches, chills, vomiting, and diarrhea. Are these normal symptoms of the shingles? Could I possibly have something else? I feel as if I have been hit by a bus. I have never felt so sick in my life! Also are there better pain medications besides lortabs and demerol? I have tried both but they do not seem to be effective.
admin answers:
It certainly does sound like shingles. It is a miserable condition. You need to talk to your doctor about the pain medication. When my friend had shingles he saw a pain management specialist and then had much better pain control.
These links have more information about shingles.
Http://hubpages.com/hub/ShinglesContagious
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-symptoms
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/shingles/DS00098/DSECTION=symptoms
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/shingles/article_em.htm
Lizzie asks…
Lymes disease or shingles? Please help?
Last week i noticed a cluster of blisters on the inner side of my thigh just above my knee, i had twisted my knee a few days before and had been having a deep extremely sharp “nerve/muscle” type pain. after a few days of the “rash” getting worse i went to the Dr, she said she thought it was lymes disease and took blood. The blood came back negitive but my Dr still thinks this is lymes, my only symptoms are a rash in a line from my inner knee that wraps acrossed the top of my thigh and extreme pain. I really dont think this is lymes, after some research on line and seeing pictures i really think this may be shingles. Any help would be great….Thank you
admin answers:
Your doctor sounds like an idiot. The rash sounds nothing like Lyme disease, and everything like shingles.
By the way, to respond to one of the previous posters, Lyme disease is usually not fatal, but does cause a lifetime of pain, fatigue, and often memory problems if not treated properly. And you would not necessarily know right away if you have Lyme disease. The Lyme disease rash is noticed in only a minority of cases. And it only has a black spot in the middle if the tick is still attached. My husband had Lyme disease for at least 6 years before it was correctly diagnosed.
Michael asks…
Ok, I have/had these symptoms, is there any indication it likely “isn’t” herpes?
Aside from the obvious negative test result from the skin culture, but more on that later.
Back in September I saw a rash of sorts on my body that concerned me. I would have figured it was run of the mill foliculitis (as I get it from time to time and have learned to ignore it mostly if it’s something I have seen beofre), but it seemed patterned/clustered a bit oddly and a bit more redder than usual (although possibly still centered on follicles). I don’t remember how they first formed, but I want to say it did seem like run of the mill pimples to start. And to add, they never tingled, burned or itched (well they itched a little simply because they were right where my underwear band is).
Anyway, that would have likely not been enough alone to concern me, but then I got the flu shortly after…or possibly “flu like symptoms“, including lower back pain (and a stiff neck too though). It just seemed far too coincidental and well timed. However at the same time, maybe I was just noticing a pattern where there was one.
The flu seemed like the flu, and my fever was high, certainly not mild, I even threw up (trying to see if a very high fever or other symptoms like nausea is possible signs of an actual flu over a herpes outbreak symptom).
Anyway, as soon as I was feeling better from the flu, I went to the doctor, he looked at it, said it did look a little “interesting” and that he may want to also test it for shingles, but that it seemed like it was likely nothing. He rubbed it very hard with the swab to get a deeper sample (re-irritating it, which in hindsight is probably why it didnt heal a bit faster) and tested it and it did come back negative.
Anyway, what I am curious about, is there anything in here that hints that it possibly isn’t herpes? Any symptom, or lackthereof that would affirm it probably was nothing because herpes either would or wouldn’t do that?
Oh, and I also have pictures I took just in case I needed them:
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/4176/384z.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9046/385s.jpg
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6034/386h.jpg
http://img602.imageshack.us/img602/8025/387h.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/2730/388hn.jpg
forgive the shoddy photography, I was using my phone.
People often say if you get herpes and it manifests it you’ll KNOW. I guess that fact alone should indicate I probably don’t have it, because I didn’t feel any pain from the red bumps and the skin test came back negative (although I am not sure how much I trust it because I didnt go in as early as I could have).
So basically with all this evidence (some for but also some against) can anyone weigh in? At this point I’d just like a little piece of mind, as I have already gotten the proper test. But I keep dwelling on all those coincidental symptoms involving the flu, and the back pain and all that. I have looked at countless herpes pictures comparing them to my own, but most are very severe (aka gross) examples and difficult to provide any real help, just alarmed me more. Also probably best to keep in mind it was just the beginning of flu season, I even remember hearing an ad on the radio that flu shots were about to start, so maybe I am just that unlucky 😛 .
Fridays, I would like to discuss with you more why you think specifically it isn’t HSV2, but to address your point about the lack of hair, I believe from what I recall it is possible I was grooming that area. My initial thought was that you were attempting to point out there were not follicles there so I wasn’t sure. Since nothing like this has happened before I do not know if the jean band is why that area became irritated like that though.
As for the shingles comment, that was far less my concern, I only brought it up because the doctor did when he looked at it, making it only bother me that the rash had “inspired” him to check for something else other than HSV2, however, I never was very concerned about the shingles stuff, thank you for the explanation though.
Also thank you for clarifying that my flu was not very likely a “flu-like” symptom, although I have not been able to read anywhere any hard differences between an outbreak inspired flu and a real one, it’s good to know there
To respond to candice’s comment, normally the culture would be enough to put me at ease, but the sheer coincidence of all the symptoms (flu-like stuff) happening right around then, even if it was the beginning of flu season, has made me concerned.
I am wondering if I got it swabbed in time (obviously getting there while I was sick was difficult, and while the red dots did take a while to heal and go away. I am nervous that perhaps I got a false negative because I didn’t get it swabbed early enough).
True, if I remain asymptomatic and don’t get a recurrence I probably shouldn’t worry (and it has already been 4-5 months, and considering the average person gets on average 4 or so recurrence in the first year, it is looking less and less like that was an outbreak).
However, it would still be nice to hear that my description could easily not be herpes and is not as suspicious as it seems to me. That plus the pictures I figure would help people discount it based on that possibly.
admin answers:
It does not look like herpes, either the genital variety or shingles.
Shingles would run in stripes or bands across your body or face, as that is where the virus lives and would be very painful and irritating.
One thing that stood out for me from your photos is that none of these lesions had hair growing in them, whereas the surrounding skin does. This makes me wonder if it is just chafing from your underwear or jeans, that has rubbed away hair and skin, and caused infection and inflammation.
Your symptoms do describe a flu, given the high fever and aches and pains all over your body. A shingles outbreak is heralded by a tingling sensation across the skin where the affected nerves are, followed by an outbreak of blisters that cause a lot of pain, burning and itching. The only time I have ever seen a fever with shingles was on an elderly man with facial shingles who was heading for a nasty case of encephalitis ( a brain infection).
Rest easy, perhaps try wearing your pants a little higher or lower or looser, try to prevent sweating across the waist band, as this can aggravate chafing.
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