What exactly is shingles

I’m wondering what the early symptoms and what shingles is. Has anybody had this problem before? And how does it start. Any advice on reply would help

[Bevvy]

The first signs of shingles can be:

a tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin

a headache or feeling generally unwell

A rash will appear a few days later.

Usually you get the shingles rash on your chest and tummy, but it can appear anywhere on your body including on your face, eyes and genitals.

The rash appears as blotches on your skin, on 1 side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.

I copied the above from NHS website. If you think you may have shingles you urgently need to contact gp. IE TOMORROW. This is because there IS a medication you can take that will help, however this must be taken early on. Usually within 3 days.

I haven’t had it but my dad and people I know have. Rash can be extremely painful and you will feel quite unwell. Can be nasty and take a little while to become better even once rash has gone. Try cold compresses on rash to ease pain.

[kingbees in reply to Bevvy]

Iv had shingles its a form of herpes and csn be very painful with spots on One side it can be dangerouse if left to long i had mine a week before diagnosed you csn be injected now after a certain age

[Bevvy in reply to kingbees]

Unfortunate most people won’t get the antivirals treatment. It has to be taken ideally within 3 days so is difficult to get seen by a gp quickly enough! For most people it is extremely uncomfortable and people feel quite unwell but it isn’t actual dangerous. A lot depends where the shingles are - if on trunk then should be ok but if in eyes or throat can be issues. It’s when people get secondary infections that things can become more serious such as pneumonia. Also for some people the pain continues long after shingles infection has gone due to damage to nerve endings.Is horrible condition and I know of people who have been unwell for some time afterwards but this is not the norm.

Yes people over the age of 70yrs can have jab in UK. Sadly it didn’t stop my dad getting shingles twice this past year, despite having had the jab.

[Jeaniem130]

My shingles started as an itchy red rash that wrapped around from my just under my ribcage to my mid back. It progressed to painful blisters. Dr gave me an antiviral med.

[timbowPSP]

Comes from Chicken pox virus, lodged in spine. Horrible - I had it twice, at a 27 and 70, and chicken pox aged 7. Usually one sided and contained in top, middle, or lower third of body.Last time aged 70 in Canada I was given mega doses of colloidal silver, and took homeopathics. Helped immensely, and recovered quickly. Calamine lotion plastered on helps the itching. I was a complementary therapist, so like to avoid Big Pharma drugs. Now 80, with PSP I am also 'managing' that! Best wishes TIMbow PSP

[NaturesArtist]

I had shingles last year. Started out as an irrigation on part of my lumbar back .. only the right hand side. Then I got blisters. I called my GP and got antivirals. I ended up quite sick in the end. I got pneumonia. Was very breathless during the shingles… I was admitted to hospital due to very bad anaemia. Had blood transfusions … they did a chest X-ray and it showed the pneumonia. My drs surgery never came out once. Even though I couldn’t breath!

[Haz58]

Mine started with 1 spot on my back. I thought I’d been bitten by something but then I got stabbing pains where the spot was like someone was stabbing me with a needle. I only got a few more spots so I was lucky. My 84 year old aunt got it and it was horrendous! Her whole tummy was covered.

[Crystalbowl]

If you have had chicken pox the virus will remain in your body lodged in a ganglion of nerves somewhere ready to strike. It is usually triggered by some sort of stressful event. It is usually one-sided but some people claim to have had it on both sides of their body. You need to get antivirals as soon as possible e.g, Acyclovir and certainly within 3 days of feeling, ideally, the tingling which usually precedes it, or the rash appearing. If you can’t get a GP appointment that quickly get an appointment at an Urgent Treatment Centre. Make sure you follow the directions and complete the treatment. In most people the rash will clear up without any complications but in some people, the pain can become chronic and after three months will be diagnosed as PHN, post herpetic neuralgia, pain. This can last for many years. In the UK the Zostavax vaccine is given to people between the ages of 70 and 79. There is also a newer vaccine, Shingrix, which is said to be more effective and is given in some countries but not in the UK as far as I have been able to ascertain.

[saj01]

Hi Sid, don't know if this will be any help to you... I suffer with herpes regularly and apart from taking a course of anti virals each time, I also found out that 2 amino acids have a direct effect on it.

Lysine works against it, thereby shortening the severity but Arginine actually promotes it. Both of these amino acids are found in food.. some foods are higher in one than the other... e.g. nuts, pumpkin seeds etc are higher in arginine.... so I have to be very careful to only eat a few very occasionally and when I'm about to get an outbreak I take lysine in powder form, in water....Both amino acids are beneficial, but in a different way. So I just looked up on the net about using lysine and shingles and it said that it can help to heal the rash and reduce the severity... don't know if it would stop it once it started.....?? More's the pity. But if it can help reduce the severity then it's worth a shot.I buy a tub of it on line and take it when necessary, but be aware taking it in big doses can have a laxative effect.

The other thing I did ages ago was to do a search 'what foods are high in lysine and low in arginine and print it off. I found it under DiscoverHomeopathy.com ... there's no reason to leave out foods permanently .

The vaccine is available for over 70's in UK, Hope that helps.