re: Who here has had shingles?

LINK

If you work with someone who has already had chicken pox, according to this your shingles shouldn't affect her as she's already got the virus. Am I reading that right?

My mother in law had a relatively mild case ... had not had the shingles vaccine but you can bet the day of diagnosis my father in law went and got the vaccine.

I'm curious as to how many of you that had shingles when you were young took the chicken pox vaccine and never had the actual chicken pox.

So my 24 yo had the chicken pox vaccine as did our kids after him ... he is likely or not to get shingles???

Terry Bradshaw

Has anyone told you that shingles near your face could develop into Bell's Palsy??

I get a Shingles rash down the right side of my lower
jaw and neck at least 2x a year. Each outbreak is worse. I got the vaccine but it didn't help.

As bad as the shingles are, I'm worried about developing Bell's Palsy on the right side of my face. My doctor said it's a distant possibility. I'm not about to google shingles/Bell's Palsy
- I might lose my shite

Funny timing. I just had them for the first time exactly two months ago. I'm 50. Was in Tallahassee for Parent's weekend at FSU and I noticed three soft, fresh blister like spots on my left forehead. LUCKILY I just so happened to have a doctor appointment scheduled for that Monday two days later. I had no clue it was shingles so my jaw pretty much dropped when he told me.

And yes, someone mentioned the nerve branch aspect. He told me if they spread the spread would go up and over the left side of my head, along that nerve branch. Fortunately they did not spread due to my good luck of the timely visit to him. So I'd have to say it was a pretty minor case. I did have some annoying head pain though for a couple of weeks, and could definitely feel a bit of a burning type sensation over the top left of my head when I rubbed it. Still feel a slight bit of it now in fact, and the scars have not fully disappeared. I can see how it could really SUCK. Again I consider myself lucky as hell.

One good bit of advice. I looked online after doc told me what I had and it said that typically you will feel a pretty major itch in the affected area a good two weeks or so before they manifest on the skin. When I read that I thought Holy shite, I damn sure do remember the top left part of my head itching like hell one day about two weeks prior while in my hotel in Indy. Was short-lived and I didn't think anything more about it. So if you get a major itch out of the blue one day, be prepared to address a case of Shingles potentially. Also, it stated that immediately preceding the outbreak it is common to experience diarreah. And sure enough, when I woke up that morning that was the first thing I had, then the blisters appeared about six hours later. Just some things to be aware of for the future to help attack it early on. Seems like it really helps to do so.

One last thing. Crazy but true. Every time for the last few years that I've seen that Terry Bradshaw Shingles commercial, I've just had the strongest feeling that that is something I'll probably contract some day. Sure enough...

that is a bunch of damn interesting info...

I laughed. You sound like me. Google shingles; end up diagnosing yourself with AIDS.

It sucked bad. I had a pretty bad case I believe due to stress as well. The fact that it's nevre pain and not any other kind just plain sucks. I was eating Gabapentin like tic tacs. Only med that seemed to help.

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I am old enough where we didn't have chicken pox vaccine.

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I'm a child of the 80s. Back then moms let you play with other kids with chicken pox on purpose because they wanted you to get them as a child and get it over with. You always heard it was worse to get them as an adult.

When I was 50-52, I got out of the shower one morning and my wife asked me what was on my back. It was a strip of blisters about 1 1/2"-2" wide and about 5'-6' long. I never felt anything. She put some Benedryl cream on it and I got dressed and went to work. She checked it again that night and it wasn't any better but hadn't spread. We did the Benedryl cream for about 3 days and it never got better so I went to the doctor and the first thing he asked me is if it hurt. I told him no, that I didn't even know it was there. He said it was shingles and gave me some med. (Don't remember what but it cleared it up in a few days.) I guess I was lucky. I never felt a thing with it. No itching, burning or pain.