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shingles?!

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Just been to the pharmacy who told me I have shingles – what on earth is shingles?!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kinda like the adult version of chicken pox i think. same virus anyway. google it, you'll get loads.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    it's the reactivation of the virus. I think this is dangerous for pregnant women- so be carefull who you associate with until it's cleared.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    shouldn't you go to the docs to get a proper diagnosis?

    my mum gets shingles as she works with elderly people; apparantly they get it a lot.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    a doctor cant give you anything for it.

    an antihistimine like Clarityn or Zirtek will help if its itchy
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's much more painful than chicken pox as well cos the lesions cluster on the surface of the skin around areas nerve dense. Unfortunately it is a virus so you cant take anything to get rid of it...but i would pop to the doctors to get an 'official' diagnosis :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote:
    I think this is dangerous for pregnant women- so be carefull who you associate with until it's cleared.

    Yep, and people with lowered immune systems as well :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my mum gets shingles as she works with elderly people; apparantly they get it a lot.
    Shingles isn't contagious, but is more common in older people.

    Shingles info
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kentish wrote:
    Shingles isn't contagious, but is more common in older people.

    Shingles info


    oh okay...well when she said it i assumed it was contagious. nevermind! when i said she gets it a lot, i meant she's had it about 4 times. :p

    eta: oh i think perhaps she meant 'cause you can get it from the environment you're in?

    stuff that...the website says 'However, shingles is contagious'. :confused:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kentish wrote:
    Shingles isn't contagious, but is more common in older people.

    Shingles info

    I had shingles a while ago...

    The doc told me that you cant pass it on... but if you come into contact with someone who hasnt had chicken pox before, then they can get chicken poxs from you...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JamesZero wrote:
    I had shingles a while ago...

    The doc told me that you cant pass it on... but if you come into contact with someone who hasnt had chicken pox before, then they can get chicken poxs from you...


    look on the website...near the bottom it says it is contagious. hmm.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JamesZero wrote:
    I had shingles a while ago...

    The doc told me that you cant pass it on... but if you come into contact with someone who hasnt had chicken pox before, then they can get chicken poxs from you...
    Yes indeed, it's the same virus, but if you have shingles you haven't caught it off anyone. You must already have had chicken pox in order to get shingles. Having chicken pox as an adult is another ball game.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    look on the website...near the bottom it says it is contagious. hmm.

    From that website:
    Fluid from shingles blisters can cause chickenpox in people who are not already immune

    but as you say, it says shingles is contagious too... which is odd because I asked my Doctor and he said no it isnt....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    From when I had shingles - which was fucking horrible and left me off work for a month (what I get for not getting to the GP asap) - I was told that shingles couldn't be passed on to anyone else.

    However shingles could cause someone else to have chicken pox if they haven't alreay had it. So my understanding is that shingles is termed contagious because it can cause chicken pox - not because it can cause shingles.

    Shingles itself can't be passed on - as I understand it, because as a reactivation it requires an original infection of chicken pox.

    As to not seeing anyone for treatment - ignore that. Go and see a GP or hospital immediately - I was prescribed antiviral drugs - I think acyclovir, which made recovery easier on the first time, and when I got a second outbreak got it resolved really quickly.

    Took about a year for the feeling in my left side to recover though, and stress or exhaustion seemed to play a big part in when it occured. On an interesting note shingles only affects one side of the body, so it's wierd to watch one side get worse and more painful whilst the other is fine.

    bit more info
    http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/shingles.htm
    http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/shingles.html
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yea my wee brother had shingles and hes only 12... It was near christmas time and he got such stick at school about it. :rolleyes: Shingle bells etc etc. :rolleyes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yea my wee brother had shingles and hes only 12... It was near christmas time and he got such stick at school about it. :rolleyes: Shingle bells etc etc. :rolleyes:


    ohhh, i thought i made that up.

    i very kindly sung it to my mum when she had it one christmas.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my friend had it got it after a skiing trip in italy. i heard it can scar so i wouldnt pick at it of squeeze it.

    and did it scar her not sure. didnt realy fancy looking where she got them
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