Shingles blisters/spread timing?

[EastWest Gal]

My bad. It appears that shingles complications are more common than I thought.

Are you sure it’s shingles? Have you contacted your physician?

 

[harllee]

Telly, shingles normally is only on one side of the body and normally only in one area. From your description it sounds like it is more spread out. You need to go to a doctor to see if it is actually shingles. If you are having trouble sleeping because of the rash, Gabepentine helped me--it is by prescription.

 

[mountainsoft]

It has been several years since I had shingles. I was only in my 40's at the time, and I thought shingles was an "old person" disease.

We were making the long drive home from visiting family when I first noticed a tenderness on my right thigh. It was right below where my keys hung in the ignition, so I thought maybe they had been rubbing on my leg or something. By the time we got home, most of my right thigh was feeling very sensitive, like a bad sunburn. I still didn't have any rash at that point.

The next day my right side was feeling tender, and I noticed a rash developing on my thigh and right side. By that evening most of my right side was breaking out, and the "sunburn" skin sensitivity was getting worse. Just the clothing rubbing against my skin was painful.

In my case, I didn't have a big area covered with rash, but there were many triangular shaped spots of redness up and down my right side. And the fact that everything was on my right side, nothing on the left. After doing research online I self-diagnosed it was shingles and made a doctor appointment. She confirmed it was shingles and prescribed the acyclovir antiviral drug. I mentioned my "old people" assumption, and she said even teenagers get shingles. Hmm... Live and learn.

I remember my skin being sensitive for about a week or so. From what I've read of other's experiences I think I got off fairly easy, but it still isn't something I would want anyone else to go through.

 

[RonBoyd]

My experience with Shingles is quite unique. I have been "attacked" for over 15 years. However, it is (normally) a single spot that is, at most, like a mosquito bite. Unfortunately it occurs at and ~3 inches below the belt line in back. Therefore, I don't know what it looks like. Anyway, when it first started before the vaccine was available. I was told that the first vaccine would not be effective if Shingles had already arrived. (After a couple of years we (the doctor & I) decided to try it anyway. Did no good.) The suggested solution was to take a 800mg tab of Acyclovir daily. After a year, I was still having a bout every month or so and gave up that regimen. When the second version of the vaccine was released, I reluctantly took the shot... it did no good.

Okay, now my experience: I can now recognize about 12 hours before it presents -- it happens every month or so. But it is easy to ignore because it starts as an itching that covers a ~6 inch patch. I cure the itching with Neosporin although I find Coconut Oil works also. When it gets to the beginning of the "mosquito bite" stage, I massive dose Acyclovir -2) 800mg tabs in the morning, 1)800mg tab mid-afternoon and 2)tabs in the evening, (Rarely do I have to continue the next day.) The itching gets worse during this time and Neosporin tempers it. During this period, the blister breaks and I know it is retreating. (BTW, I have been told that the "blister break" stage is very contagious, particularly with children -- Chicken Pox. Hand washing is a must)

I said earlier that it was easy to ignore and if I don't start the Acyclovir right away it is harder to control -- it has happened three time where it progressed to 2-3 blisters and took several days to clear up.

I know this will not be useful information for most (if any) folks. But, know that my heart goes out those who tell me about the pain and suffering they are put through. It is a most frustrating disease.

 

[ivinsfan]

It’s much munch quicker than the above. <15 sec shot. A few minutes with the pharmacist wearing PPE I would hope.

I agree completely yet I struck out last week at my effort to get shot number two. I have a SIL needing the same thing, so I guess I'll call her and we will put our heads together to get this figured out.

The depressing thing was when I asked for the shot I was just told No we aren't doing vaccinations without any indication of when they might actually start doing them...I have till about July 10,to hit 6 months.

 

[ivinsfan]

My experience with Shingles is quite unique. I have been "attacked" for over 15 years. However, it is (normally) a single spot that is, at most, like a mosquito bite. Unfortunately it occurs at and ~3 inches below the belt line in back. Therefore, I don't know what it looks like. Anyway, when it first started before the vaccine was available. I was told that the first vaccine would not be effective if Shingles had already arrived. (After a couple of years we (the doctor & I) decided to try it anyway. Did no good.) The suggested solution was to take a 800mg tab of Acyclovir daily. After a year, I was still having a bout every month or so and gave up that regimen. When the second version of the vaccine was released, I reluctantly took the shot... it did no good.

Okay, now my experience: I can now recognize about 12 hours before it presents -- it happens every month or so. But it is easy to ignore because it starts as an itching that covers a ~6 inch patch. I cure the itching with Neosporin although I find Coconut Oil works also. When it gets to the beginning of the "mosquito bite" stage, I massive dose Acyclovir -2) 800mg tabs in the morning, 1)800mg tab mid-afternoon and 2)tabs in the evening, (Rarely do I have to continue the next day.) The itching gets worse during this time and Neosporin tempers it. During this period, the blister breaks and I know it is retreating. (BTW, I have been told that the "blister break" stage is very contagious, particularly with children -- Chicken Pox. Hand washing is a must)

I said earlier that it was easy to ignore and if I don't start the Acyclovir right away it is harder to control -- it has happened three time where it progressed to 2-3 blisters and took several days to clear up.

I know this will not be useful information for most (if any) folks. But, know that my heart goes out those who tell me about the pain and suffering they are put through. It is a most frustrating disease.

What a pain but to reassure you if the children are up to date on their chickenpox vaccine I don't think contagion is much of an issue.

Do you keep a dose of anti-viral on hand for this, I actually have a friend with the same issue except her attacks are much nastier..

 

[harllee]

Wow Ron Boyd, your Shingles experience is very unusual, never heard anyone with that type of shingles--just goes to show that shingles is a very unusual disease. I am surprised that the new vaccine did not help. I was having Shingles outbreaks every so often but it appears that the new vaccine has stopped it. I am glad you have figured out a way to treat yours.

When my I was having Shingles outbreaks my doctor told me to stay away from pregnant women and small children that had not yet had the chickenpox vaccine. Of course, now many children are not getting vaccines so they are at risk.

 

[RonBoyd]

What a pain but to reassure you if the children are up to date on their chickenpox vaccine I don't think contagion is much of an issue.

Yeah, I was just sayin. But something to keep in mind if around the very young (infants, for instance). I was just pointing out that the virus is active and transferrable at that stage.

Do you keep a dose of anti-viral on hand for this, I actually have a friend with the same issue except her attacks are much nastier..

Yes, I do. <chuckle> My prescription is to take one a day and I get a 90 day supply every 3 months. I was putting them in a cabinet because I only used at most 8-9 every month or so. Imagine my surprise when one day I ran out of room in the cabinet and found I had probably a hundred year supply of Acyclovir. (I have not received any more in over a year.)

 

[RonBoyd]

Wow Ron Boyd, your Shingles experience is very unusual, never heard anyone with that type of shingles--just goes to show that shingles is a very unusual disease.

Yes, I consider myself to be very fortunate.

 

[Telly]

......Are you sure it’s shingles? Have you contacted your physician?

Originally posted by harllee
Telly, shingles normally is only on one side of the body and normally only in one area. From your description it sounds like it is more spread out. You need to go to a doctor to see if it is actually shingles. If you are having trouble sleeping because of the rash, Gabepentine helped me--it is by prescription.

I'm sure it's Shingles. There is a classic pic on I think it was the CDC website, that has been copied by some others. I no longer have a PCP, as the practice I used to go to has been bought by a practice aggregator. Who instituted new rules in the chain they assembled - Medicare only if you are in one of 3 MA plans that they have agreements with... no other Medicare allowed. Since then, I've had my eye on an urgent care place near me, but they are now closed to patients, they are doing Covid-19 testing by appt. only, nothing else. If for some reason I get desperate, I can go to some other urgent care place, not sure about quality of results. Since I was about 15, I have diagnosed myself, and knew what drug should be prescribed for me, if applicable. I am very very low-maintenance.

What I have found researching online about Shingles is in most cases the same phrases parroted over and over site to site. Some, the laughable ones, describe Shingles as being in a band on one side of your chest/abdomen, THAT is where Shingles are! Yeah right! And the "one side" issue is being overplayed and repeated all over.

I did finally find one that said Shingles is "usually on one side, but may also affect arms and legs" and can be across multiple dermatomes (nerves), instead of this "only one nerve" business that is parroted. I also found one reference that said it can last 2 to 4 weeks, another went out to 6 weeks possible.

One made reference, via the concern about spreading the virus to others not protected, that some blisters can be scaling over and becoming non-contagious, while other blisters may be appearing new and are contagious. That was the only reference to it being an on-going production of blisters for a while, while others are sealing over. All the other sites act like you have these blisters all of a sudden in a group, they all age together, then they start to disappear all together, all in marked phases, no overlap, which made no sense to me!

I did find a dermatome chart, of which I could plot my areas as being on C4/C5, and then one blister each on T11 and L5 that have not had any others join them there.

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/dermatomes/article_em.htm

I suspect the Shingles info on most of the websites, with regard to the patient experience, is out of an old textbook, maybe from the 1940s

 

[pb4uski]

Just ran across the med I was on... Valacyclovir 1g oral tablet

As I recall, 7-14 days.

I also got the meds. Diagnosis was a funny.... I walk into the walk-in clinic and had to pay $150 just to be seen. I go in and a nurse takes my BP, temp, etc. Then the doc walks in, looks at my neck and says "Yup, that's shingles" and writes me a prescription.

Mine was much more benign than harlee... just like a minor sunburn on part of my neck and outer ear for a couple weeks.

 

[Telly]

OP here, with the wrap-up on this caper. It was poison ivy! Before I was convinced that I had Shingles, I had considered poison ivy, as I was exposed to it, but didn't think I had gotten any on me. Plus, the long time between the possible exposure and outbreak, being around two weeks, didn't match any description of poison ivy. Nor did me getting continuing outbreaks in odd patterns on areas of the body that certainly were not exposed, nor transferred by hands, tools, etc. But the lack of pain seemed to reduce the chances of it being Shingles. Everyone I found in person who had Shingles, or a family member of same, all mentioned bouts of stabbing pain. And I was painless.

The spreading and new blister sites had finally pretty much ground to a halt when I went to see a doc. He said it was poison ivy and not Shingles because I had it on more than one side, though he was unable to tell me why Shingles couldn't be on more than one side of the body. As far as the much-delayed response, and the continuing eruption of blisters all over, no answer. Gave me a prescription for steroid pills, which I think has sped up the clearing up process.

Since then, I have learned about ACD (Allergic Contact Dermatitis) and Type IV Hypersensitivity. And checked with an Immunologist. Yep, it seems I have become hyper-sensitized to Urushiol, the nasty compound in poison ivy. It all explains the odd effects I had. I will have to watch it now, which will be a real issue, as poison ivy is endemic to this area. And dogs, etc. can run through it with no ill effect, but the oil can be transferred via their fur to others. So I pet dogs at my peril.

So the final result is good, and bad. So onwards, and, um, onwards.

 

[harllee]

Telly, glad you did not have Shingles. Poison Ivy is bad but Shingles is REALLY bad.

 

[REWahoo]

Telly, I think I'm starting to itch in sympathy with you. Had a really bad case of poison ivy as a kid and still remember it - not fondly.

"Gonna need an ocean, of calamine lotion..."

 

[ivinsfan]

Telly, shingles normally is only on one side of the body and normally only in one area. From your description it sounds like it is more spread out. You need to go to a doctor to see if it is actually shingles. If you are having trouble sleeping because of the rash, Gabepentine helped me--it is by prescription.

Harllee for the win...

 

[harllee]

Harllee for the win...

Harllee unfortunately knows a lot about Shingles having had it 3 times before there was Shingrix.

 

[calmloki]

Reading this thread makes me happy I got my first Shingrix shot today when I got my lab work done - Thanks Kaiser-Permanente! Tried to get the 2-shot series last year but had had a shingles shot some years ago and the clinic was short on Shingrix, so I didn't make the cut. So far less pain than a flu shot, though the side effects listed are kinda scary reading.

 

[Telly]

I would still like to know "why" there is such a bias to Shingles diagnosis with the "one side of the body only" issue. If I am understanding correctly, the virus hides in a major nerve node in the spinal column for decades, then decides to run amok down that nerve. Why can't the virus hide in TWO major nerves, or three or four or ? There are a lot of them, major nerves I mean! More than 30.

 

[6miths]

I would still like to know "why" there is such a bias to Shingles diagnosis with the "one side of the body only" issue. If I am understanding correctly, the virus hides in a major nerve node in the spinal column for decades, then decides to run amok down that nerve. Why can't the virus hide in TWO major nerves, or three or four or ? There are a lot of them, major nerves I mean! More than 30.

It can, and does, but usually an outbreak is limited to one spinal sensory nerve and the area of skin served by it (called a dermatome) at a time. And tends to recur in that same distribution. Herpes virus (HSV-1 and 2 or less commonly HHV-1 and 2), which are in the same family as the chicken pox virus (VZV or HHV-3) tends to be even more limited in its outbreak pattern and is often limited to a much smaller area rather than an entire dermatome.