Is it always painful?

I haven't been well for about 10 days..thought it was very bad cold or flu...with fever etc...

Tonight on my back I have a cluster of raised bumps..mid back close to midline...it's mildly itchy ..but no pain. I am quite tired  and the cold I had seems to want to come back today..sore throat and achy.

I suspect shingles...but never having them before I'm not sure and anyone I've spoken to says they are painful...but mine are not...(yet...lol)

If they get worse I'll go to GP...but in the meantime personal stories are helpful..
Cheers
J..

I'd go to get it checked out, as it can be highly infectious in some stages (probably the early stages, as with chicken pox), so getting it confirmed might be wise. I'm sure you wouldn't want to unknowingly pass it on to others, and it can be fairly serious in elderly and the immuno-compromised.

Just to add, my local GP surgery is offering a shingles jab to anyone aged 70 OR 79... I think it is an experimental thing, but for some reason people aged 70 or 79 have more success in taking up the vaccine... maybe it is to do with certain years in the past when there were particular waves of chicken pox cases. Apparently those over 79 don't get as much immunity, which makes me wonder as my 80 yr old mum just got an invite for a jab!

I remember very clearly one day when I was 14, I was drafted in to help make sandwiches in the pub over the road, a grand re-opening as it hadn't been a pub for some years, just a family home - I remember being in the kitchen and feeling really dizzy, mum told me not to be so silly, so I carried on working - and the next day went down with chicken pox, passed it on to my sister, gave my grandmother shingles, and probably the rest of the village as well. Mmmm... how to be a one-person epidemic...lol

Get to your doctor asap. If it is shingles it has to treated at the start or it doesnt work. I had shingles in the trigeminel nerve 20 years ago not treated as doctors didnt recognise it. This area is rare result was permanent numbness in my mouth. Flipping nusciance fortunately doesnt show.   With regard to shingles chicken pox connection. To get shingles you will have had chicken pox at some time in your life. The virus stays in your body Nd can reappear later as shingles

I think the shingle jab is national for 70 to79 yearold and would guess its fincial atm as to why its only offered to one age range. I would ve concerned that it couldtrigger chickenpox if you have never had it. There has been a vaccine for pregnat ladies who are at high rish during pregnancy

An elderly friend of my family had shingles many years ago. It affected her face, in particular her eye. She endured many years of severe pain in the eye. Eventually the eye had to be removed as the pain was untreatable :(

I am getting over a second bout of shingles, my first one in the groin when I was 18 the second one last autumn throughout my head which was much worse and I am much older. Its a virus can be caught from someone with chicken pox the anti virals are not that good and if you are on medication you should double check they will mix i.e.. warfarin. I have been left with an irritating rash in my hair. The vaccination came out in September but was not suitable for me.
Its not contagious but best to avoid sharing towels. There is plenty of info on the net.
Hope you feel better soon

yes daisy I was very lucky mine was trigeminal not optic sort of the next nerve along so missed my eye. It sounds like your poor friend had optic shingles. Mine went down the side of my face and the rash appeared like ulcers in my mouth. As I mentioned in my case I have been left with a numbness in my mouth a bit like when you go to the dentist
The problem with the herpes virus ( all types ) is that once contacted it stays within your body and can be triggered at any time. Similar to cold sore virus which is a cousin so to speak and genital herpes. That's why it reappears at different times.
Fortunately shingles and chicken pox don't usually appear as often as cold sores do. Strangely just before I developed shingles I had my first ever cold sore

the contagious bit is only from shingles to people who haven't had chicken pox maybe young children and babies in particular .

You are right cabs the antivirals ( zovirax and the like ) don't have a lot of affect unless its used from day one which is often hard. Mine took 9 months to diagnose after I was finally sent to a consultant far to late to treat and probably why I have been left with the numbness.
All in all anyone who suspects they have shingles should go off to the doctor asap it isn't nice

Freewayz do see the doc.  I left mine too late and it was too late to get any help.

I was diagnosed with it a few years back now, make sure you see a gp and get yourself signed of work too

I thought you can catch chickenpox from shingles but not the other way round??
I have seen a lot of people posting on Fb that they have it over past month,I wonder why?

> and the next day went down with chicken pox, passed it on to my sister, gave my grandmother shingles,

It is more likely your grandmother gave you (and your sister) your chicken pox....

I had shingles when I was 16 and it is quite serious much worse than chicken pocks, my doctors were not very good and mis diagnosed what I had. It ended up damaging the nerve endings running along my chest and arms, it wasn't painful at the start but it was the longer it took to get diagnosed, as I didn't really get proper treatment it took me months to fully recover and 9 years on I still have the scars.

The only reason it was diagnosed in the end was when I went back with chest pains and the doctor saw the scars and realised what was actually causing all the problems, I was very nearly hospitalised.

Get it looked at if you think it is shingles as you can get seriously ill.

yes broody you are right. The first time you come in contact with the virus zoster varicella it becomes chicken pox if it is reactivated so to speak you develop shingles. There are a few people who do get chicken pox more than once though. Once contracted the virus remains within the body just like othere herpes viruses and can reappear at any time hence cold sores

The last couple of days I have had acute pain on one side of my face, I came across another pain killing drug in its early stages EMA 401 I am seeing my Dr this morning so will see if he knows about it. Am taking fluids through a straw, very difficult to open my mouth

Poor you cabs its horrid. Hope they can find something to help soon

You cant catch shingles from shingles but you can catch chickenpox from it but only if you havent had it

I have it at the moment, and it's really miserable.    Been into the docs with the stabbing pains in my side, and thinking about it, I'd been feeling giddy, and with sort of stitch in my side for some days.     Doctor found the rash - I think it had only just come out.   He put me on anti-virus tablets - five times a day.      If I try to do without pain killers it's a big mistake, and I feel awful.   

Poor dogs wonder what's happened

Jo

My mother has it on her chest and shoulder - extremely unfair as she's only just been declared stable after a miserable time last summer when they tried giving her chemo and nearly killed her off! :-(

I've just discovered something in desperation after a particularly bad night last night  with shingles.    We bought some Phytobalm from Hilton herbs for the dogs - really for their hot spots.     Put it on the rash, which was burning and hurting like hell fire.      It's much ,much easier today.
Expect the doctor will throw a wobbly, but I took the dogs myself for a short walk for the first time for nearly  a fortnight.

Jo

My Mum isn't keen on dogs (well, everyone has to have a flaw!) but I think the doctor has upped her painkillers so she isn't too bad. Not sure what she'd say if I suggested dog medication haha, but will keep it in mind!

I've had the shingles vaccine (now age 70) - no after-effects/reactions - I remember just how ill my mother was when she had shingles, just as I had DD, it took her over 6 months to really get over it.  

They didn't even offer it to me (I'm just 70).  They won't let Husband have one, as he's 72.........any logic in that?

Jo

She reports the rash is fading a lot, but still painful and very sensitive even to just a cotton t-shirt - visions of my mother on her holiday half naked!!! :-D