Jenny heard I've got Shingles, asked for a post.
Dear friends,
I went to the doctor early on and began large doses of the necessary medication
immediately. I think I already see some improvement. I've been sleeping most of
the time because of fatigue and flu-like pain.
The attack of Shingles I'm experiencing is all in my face, and began under my right eye. Most of that half of my face is involved, but NOT the tip of my nose!
The nerve there runs up to, and inside the eye, so a nose tip little red spot
would require emergency medical treatment to avoid blindness. I'm very fortunate to have gone to the doctor early in the infection and expect a good recovery.
Most of us have been ill in childhood with what in English is called "Chicken-pox." It is one of the herpes viruses. This nasty little virus canhide in your spinal cord for the rest of your life. When you a little run down,
or have bronchitis or some other such infection, or your immune system isn't up
to par for any reason (even aging,) this nasty little herpes zoster virus can come out of its hiding place and start to live in some of the nerves of your body
. It moves along these nerves leaving strings of lines that trace the path of
the nerves. It can be excruciatingly itchy and painful. Your muscles ache. You
feel sick and exhausted.
Lucky for me, I was concerned at a very early stage and went to my physician who
was immediately able to get me onto a powerful and relatively new medication
I had shooting pains in the nerves in my teeth, as though my dentist hit a nerve
while drilling, pain in my jaw so I couldn't bite, and flue-like symptoms all over, including fever, lots of swollen redness and some pustules that went through various stages. I think I'm beginning to get better. I slept a great deal and I was always very glad to take the huge, dark blue "horse pill" tablets, 1,000
mg of Valacyclovir, three times daily. (By the way, it is very interesting to read about how this anti-viralmedication works. Worth looking it up.
Treatment
If you ever think you may have shingles, see your doctor as soon as possible. Antiviral treatment can reduce pain and the duration of symptoms, but it is much less effective if started more than one to three days after the onset of the shingles.
* Rest and pain relief are important
* A bland, protective application should be applied to the rash. Try
* Capsaicin cream
may be helpful for pain relief for post-herpetic neuralgia.
* Oral antiviral medication is recommended in the followingcircumstances: facial shingles, and the elderly.
* Antiviral medication available for shingles on prescription include:
o Valaciclovir
In severe or extensive cases aciclovir may be given intravenously
for a few days.
* In some circumstances, systemic steroids
may also
be recommended.
* Oral antibiotics may be needed for secondary infection, usually
erythromycin
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