So, I come home from Arizona and I have this itching, prickling pain on and off on in one location on my left side. It kind of felt like a spider bite, but it wasn't red and nothing was there. Two days later I develop a red maculopapular rash. At first I just though it was heat rash due to being outside in AZ and running during the day while it was hot. Well it didn't go away and began to spread up the left side of my back. It burns and itches like crazy. Diagnosis...
Finally on Sunday night I was thinking about the signs and symptoms and realized that it was Shingles. I went to my PCP the following day to confirm the diagnosis. For those of you who don't know, Shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus that remains dormant in your system until activated by weakened immune system, stress, or extreme heat. My immune system is fine and I am not under stress, so it must have been triggered from the Arizona heat. It attacks and follows the nerves and is typically unilateral. It usually occurs in people over 60, but it can happen to those younger. (Just my Luck). I was put on an antiviral medication and she gave me something to help with the pain. The antivirals worked great, it is almost completely healed-YEAH!
1 comment:
wow! i'm sorry and hope you are doing better. looks painful. my neighbor's son just had shingles too. and then her 3 yr old got the chicken pox (and had already had the vaccine) crazy!
Post a Comment