Shingles

[JOHNNIE36]

One thing to check for before you get the shingles shot, you have to know that in the past you had chicken pox. I didn't know, couldn't remember, so my doctor made me get a blood test. It showed that I had had chicken pox so he gave me the shingles shot. Shingles (as I understand it) is the chicken pox virus lying dormant in your body and something triggers that virus into activity. If you never had chicken pox as a child, you would be doing more harm than good by getting the shot. Maybe Rich in Tampa can shed some more light on the subject. It's important to know as much as possible about shingles prior to getting the shot.

 

[HFWR]

One thing to check for before you get the shingles shot, you have to know that in the past you had chicken pox. I didn't know, couldn't remember, so my doctor made me get a blood test. It showed that I had had chicken pox so he gave me the shingles shot. Shingles (as I understand it) is the chicken pox virus lying dormant in your body and something triggers that virus into activity. If you never had chicken pox as a child, you would be doing more harm than good by getting the shot. Maybe Rich in Tampa can shed some more light on the subject. It's important to know as much as possible about shingles prior to getting the shot.

Had the mumps and chicken pox in rapid succession in the second grade. Still have a small scar/bump on my tummy to show for it.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

One thing to check for before you get the shingles shot, you have to know that in the past you had chicken pox. I didn't know, couldn't remember, so my doctor made me get a blood test. It showed that I had had chicken pox so he gave me the shingles shot. Shingles (as I understand it) is the chicken pox virus lying dormant in your body and something triggers that virus into activity. If you never had chicken pox as a child, you would be doing more harm than good by getting the shot. Maybe Rich in Tampa can shed some more light on the subject. It's important to know as much as possible about shingles prior to getting the shot.

With no disrespect to your doctor, CDC and other recommendations clearly state that blood testing for prior chicken pox in people born before 1980 is unnecessary and not helpful in determining who should get zoster vaccine. Almost everyone that age has had chicken pox and there is no surplus harm to those rare cases who did not have chicken pox but get the vaccine (except unnecessary cost).

Perhaps your doc had other reasons to recoommend testing?

 

[haha]

When I was small mothers used to take their kids to visit other kids with chickenpox as well as many other infections, I can't remember why-perhaps so all the kids in the family would be sick at once and Mom could then put it behind her.

Parent's were much tougher about dealing with "childhood diseases" back then.

Ha

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

When I was small mothers used to take their kids to visit other kids with chickenpox as well as many other infections, I can't remember why-perhaps so all the kids in the family would be sick at once and Mom could then put it behind her.

Parent's were much tougher about dealing with "childhood diseases" back then.

It was good to listen to Mother. Chicken [-]soup[/-] pox is generally very mild in young children. Expose them early, take the consequences of a mild disease as a trade-off against much more severe disease if acquired in the older teen years or beyond. Sometimes it would backfire, but basically this is a rudimentary vaccination policy.

 

[Meadbh]

Mother really does know best!

I had chickenpox during my final year in medical school. All day I attended classes and lectures and in the afternoon I a bit itchy, but didn't notice anything else. At the time I lived at home with my parents. I walked in the door and Mom said: "You've got chickenpox!" All those profs and med students totally missed it!

I spent the next week at home pampering myself with calamine lotion. It really wasn't bad. I got a lot of studying done.....

 

[haha]

I had chickenpox during my final year in medical school. All day I attended classes and lectures and in the afternoon I a bit itchy, but didn't notice anything else. At the time I lived at home with my parents. I walked in the door and Mom said: "You've got chickenpox!" All those profs and med students totally missed it!

I spent the next week at home pampering myself with calamine lotion. It really wasn't bad. I got a lot of studying done.....

Doesn't it sometimes cause a nasty pneumonia in adults?

Ha

 

[Moemg]

I had chickenpox during my final year in medical school. All day I attended classes and lectures and in the afternoon I a bit itchy, but didn't notice anything else. At the time I lived at home with my parents. I walked in the door and Mom said: "You've got chickenpox!" All those profs and med students totally missed it!

.

Same thing happened to me except with shingles . I had several physicians & nurses look at my arm and the all said bug bite . That night when more bug bites showed up and my arm felt like I had placed it in the gas grill I knew what was up . The scary part was it went into my chest and it really felt like a heart attack .

 

[oldtrig]

Now after reading here I am wondering if I had shingles. About three years ago I noticed a red place on the side of my face close to my ear. The next day it got bigger and spread all inside my ear. There was pain and I decided I needed to make a trip to the doctor. He really did not know what it was. He put me on antibiotics for two weeks. I thought I may have been bitten by a spider but still not sure. I still have scars in my ear and a small one on my face. It took about two months to heal. Shingles?? well I am 63 and off to get the shot as quick as I can. oldtrig

 

[Moemg]

Now after reading here I am wondering if I had shingles. About three years ago I noticed a red place on the side of my face close to my ear. The next day it got bigger and spread all inside my ear. There was pain and I decided I needed to make a trip to the doctor.

The pain of shingles is like this Pain !

 

[Brat]

Often the blisters follow a nerve path.

 

[Meadbh]

Often the blisters follow a nerve path.

Always! You just have to know where those nerve paths go. The lingo is "dermatomes".

Google it for images.