Shingles and Hypothyroidism ..??

[Ballroomdiva]

Anyone had shingles and is it something we can get because of our condition..? ,I’m Hypo( obviously 😂) and i ve got shingles just the rash on right side of abdomen.. had a bit of pain in that area for a few days.. thought it was my husbands bad cold.. he is coughing and sneezing .. I’m 54 so quite young to get it ..🤷‍♀️

[humanbean]

I haven't had shingles myself, but it does get mentioned quite often on here - there are 140 posts on this forum that mention shingles :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

When I'm old enough I'd like to get a vaccine against shingles - but I still have a few years to wait - the NHS doesn't offer them before age 70. I don't know if they are available privately before then.

nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinati...

[jrbarnes]

I'm in the US and they run those shingles ads a lot. Their motto is "Shingles Doesn't Care" and the vaccine is targeted to people 50 and over. The ads are funny but shingles is painful and that's not funny. My friend was in her 50s when she got shingles so it can happen. The only people I know who had shingles did not have hypo. At 50 I will get that shingles vaccine!

[Citrinesun]

I've had it, actually had it in my early 20s ☹️ rare but it's not always older people. I was extremely stressed at the time so vulnerable to it I guess.

I was lucky to have a small patch around my right kidney - I was fobbed off, saying I had a UTI.. eventually got proper diagnosis after going back for 2nd opinion.

was really poorly so expect to start feeling wiped, it's a miserable virus really but u will get better, few weeks of rest.

I can't remember what treatment I had definitely had a prescription, but i would still go the usual immune boosting route aswel. Vit c, etc

I was not hypothyroid at the time at all.

I had chicken pox as a kid & the virus stays in the spine and can erupt when stressed or run down.

Added quote from web "Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant (inactive) in their body. The virus can reactivate later, causing shingles. Most people who develop shingles have only one episode during their lifetime."

I have a friend who has had it twice so I know that can happen too..

[Fruitandnutcase]

I’m in my 70s and had it in my teens. Started with what felt like a single very itchy spot on the right side of my back - I thought it was my bra irritating it but it moved right round that side. Back then I had B12 injections for it. Sounds strange now but that was back in the old days. No idea what caused it.

[FancyPants54]

I had it in my 30's. I wasn't hypo then at all. It's a common virus that sits biding it's time. Can't blame hypo for this one I'm afraid. Try not to scratch it. You can dab calamine lotion on it with cotton wool if it is driving you mad. My Nan had it in her 80's and scratched it raw. It got infected. Not good at all. She even had it in her eye (and scalp) and lost the sight of the eye eventually. The biggest part of her troubles with it were constant scratching, infection of the scabs and poor diet/hygiene by then. She lived on a farm and literally any and everything could be found in her house from time to time. Lambs, chickens, goats etc.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

I had shingles a couple months ago when 44.   

I think it was caused by have 2 separate vaccines within a fortnight.   

I’m treated for hyper but was told not related to thyroid.   

Doctor prescribed me a 7 day course of Aciclovir.  You need to start within 72 hours, some doctors won’t give if too late,  I was very nearly beyond the time but doctor felt it would likely In time enough to benefit which I believe it did.  

Paracetamol/ ibroprofen helped but doctor but didn’t offer treatment for rash.  I’d been using hydrocortisone cream as I have eczema prone skin & though I was having a reaction to something (had recently been given new brand of medicine). Doctor said to use steroid cream sparingly only if absolutely necessary when very itchy but speak to chemist to recommend cream.  

The pharmacist looked on computer & recommended a calamine cream which helped soothe the itch but less effect on nerve pain. I believe some anaesthetic creams can be tried & I did consider buying a capsicum creme recommended by forum member but some of my affected area was umm in a delicate place so decided against it as was slowly improving.

 I was offered Amitriptyline for nerve pain & said I would consider if pain persisted but it did settled so didn’t opt for it.

Other forms of antidepressants/ anticonvulsant are also sometimes recommended for treatment.  1 in 5 find the deep pain lingers. (Post herpetic neuralgia).  

It’s been a couple of months & I find the rash area can still tingle.  My car has heated seats but I have to switch it off as the warmth sets it off.  

[Ballroomdiva]

Thank you everyone for your kind comments.. I have an appointment this morning.. I’m quite run down at the moment.so perhaps that’s it.. .thought I was getting my husbands flu until I saw the rash.. then the symptoms clicked..🥴

[HowNowWhatNow in reply to Ballroomdiva]

Hope you are OK now.

[HowNowWhatNow]

Headline / summary suggests that thyroid replacement has a protective effect:

have not read it, I should add!

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[helvella Administrator]

Don't know how I missed your post!

I had shingles last January (2022).

Very, very unpleasant though mine was left shoulder/neck area.

Had aciclovir as an antiviral (not sure how much help that was).

Also codeine, co-codamol for pain. And, when they were really not doing much, went on to amitriptyline as I was struggling with sleep. (Tapered off that as I really didn't like taking it at all. Though I admit it helped.) Also had an antibiotic as the weeping pustules of shingles became slightly infected!

I sincerely hope it resolves for you - it does for most, especially (so I've read) younger sufferers.