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It's all about the timing
May. 27th, 2008 01:16 pmI'm off to the UK the day after tomorrow. Yesterday I was diagnosed with shingles. GAH!
I'm also lucky I have an observant g/f. I have had an itchy rash on my side for a few days, and was busy rewashing most of my laundry because I thought it might be hives/contact dermatitis from the new soap powder I was using. The idea of shingles had vaguely crossed my mind, but I didn't feel crook, it wasn't painful, and it wasn't showing the characteristic rash (the rash was a few smooth red areas with a spot in the middle). Also, I tend to resist "blowing things out of proportion" when it comes to health matters.
I showed the CDL on Saturday, and the first thing that she reckoned it might be was shingles... but again, no lurgy symptoms and no blisters, yadda yadda, although, hm, it is odd that it's one-sided, and the spots are kind of in a line. I was paying attention to further developments after that assessment, as can be imagined. Sunday, still the same, and I had rewashed everything washable by then, and rinsed with vinegar. Bah.
Yesterday morning, dah-ding!, I woke up feeling snuffly, and my rashy areas had lots of little spots in them, and were feeling prickly. Off to the doctor I ran, and sure enough, it's a "classic" case. Along the T10 dermatome, as it happens. The rashy bits still haven't joined up - there are about 5 spots of 2cm diameter - but they are growing a wee bit.Apparently the doc has seen several cases in the last couple of weeks. Not too sure what that's about. I haven't been feeling that rundown myself, although I felt that it was taking me an unusually long time to get over my last blood donation (just over a week ago), and I did a real number on putting my neck out a couple of weeks ago, which required three trips to the osteopath in a week-and-a-half.
So I now have antivirals - I've never taken anything like that before - and some antiseptic cream that is keeping the itching mostly away. I've also luckily found the perfect homeopathic remedy - rhus tox - in my stash at home, so will be guzzling that. Rhus tox is made from the poison ivy plant, and one of the symptoms is craving immersion in hot water - I've had four baths in the last week (in addition to my usual morning shower), and even then I was wondering if I should take Rhus for my neck being out - it's good for "stiff neck" (no laughing). Hah, maybe if I had taken it then, I'd have avoided this flare-up. The potion is good for prickly itchy painful rashes that are worse from getting overheated in bed at night, muscular aches and pains, colds and so on. It's pretty specific for chicken pox itself as well as shingles.
I'm off work today - two of my colleagues haven't had chicken pox - and I'll have to be aware of who I'm nearby when travelling. Hopefully someone who's severely immune-compromised won't be flying in any case. I'll also have to suss out whether the people I'll be seeing when I'm over in the UK have all had chicken pox. I have good personal hygiene, and I'm not coughing or sneezing, but best to be safe than sorry.
But thank goodness for astute g/fs who put ideas into my head, when I might have discounted the whole thing as hives-with-a-24-hour-cold-and-mild-fatigue - not something I'll generally visit a doctor for. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. :-/
I'm also lucky I have an observant g/f. I have had an itchy rash on my side for a few days, and was busy rewashing most of my laundry because I thought it might be hives/contact dermatitis from the new soap powder I was using. The idea of shingles had vaguely crossed my mind, but I didn't feel crook, it wasn't painful, and it wasn't showing the characteristic rash (the rash was a few smooth red areas with a spot in the middle). Also, I tend to resist "blowing things out of proportion" when it comes to health matters.
I showed the CDL on Saturday, and the first thing that she reckoned it might be was shingles... but again, no lurgy symptoms and no blisters, yadda yadda, although, hm, it is odd that it's one-sided, and the spots are kind of in a line. I was paying attention to further developments after that assessment, as can be imagined. Sunday, still the same, and I had rewashed everything washable by then, and rinsed with vinegar. Bah.
Yesterday morning, dah-ding!, I woke up feeling snuffly, and my rashy areas had lots of little spots in them, and were feeling prickly. Off to the doctor I ran, and sure enough, it's a "classic" case. Along the T10 dermatome, as it happens. The rashy bits still haven't joined up - there are about 5 spots of 2cm diameter - but they are growing a wee bit.Apparently the doc has seen several cases in the last couple of weeks. Not too sure what that's about. I haven't been feeling that rundown myself, although I felt that it was taking me an unusually long time to get over my last blood donation (just over a week ago), and I did a real number on putting my neck out a couple of weeks ago, which required three trips to the osteopath in a week-and-a-half.
So I now have antivirals - I've never taken anything like that before - and some antiseptic cream that is keeping the itching mostly away. I've also luckily found the perfect homeopathic remedy - rhus tox - in my stash at home, so will be guzzling that. Rhus tox is made from the poison ivy plant, and one of the symptoms is craving immersion in hot water - I've had four baths in the last week (in addition to my usual morning shower), and even then I was wondering if I should take Rhus for my neck being out - it's good for "stiff neck" (no laughing). Hah, maybe if I had taken it then, I'd have avoided this flare-up. The potion is good for prickly itchy painful rashes that are worse from getting overheated in bed at night, muscular aches and pains, colds and so on. It's pretty specific for chicken pox itself as well as shingles.
I'm off work today - two of my colleagues haven't had chicken pox - and I'll have to be aware of who I'm nearby when travelling. Hopefully someone who's severely immune-compromised won't be flying in any case. I'll also have to suss out whether the people I'll be seeing when I'm over in the UK have all had chicken pox. I have good personal hygiene, and I'm not coughing or sneezing, but best to be safe than sorry.
But thank goodness for astute g/fs who put ideas into my head, when I might have discounted the whole thing as hives-with-a-24-hour-cold-and-mild-fatigue - not something I'll generally visit a doctor for. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. :-/
