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Shingles

My MIL had a terrible case years ago and she had some kind of cortisone cream that really helped but don't know the name of it. I sure hope she recovers quickly. Hugs to her.
 
Nemla said:
Within the first few days, the doc can give medication, that stops it from developing fully, check if it has been discovered early enough, it is expensive ,but worth it. After that not much you can do apart from let it take its course, and keep her comfortable. My mum had it badly,it is definitely one of the ones to try to avoid. Lots of vitamins and relaxing herb teas for you, while you look after her. Crossing fingers.
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I will definitely add the herbs to the mix. Thank you so much for the suggestion. In fact, thank you everyone for all your suggestions and well wishes. They are truly appreciated. Debby
 
Hubby has had it twice, and both times he was under a lot of stress at work. The first time he wasn't sure what it was and so by the time he was seen and diagnosed, it was too far past getting a shot and/or medication (I don't remember which) and the second time he thought he had caught it early enough, but his doctor still wouldn't give it to him. He was so frustrated! I know we used the spray that you can put on sunburns that helped him numb the skin. Other than that, I'm drawing a blank. I'll be praying that she heals quickly!
 
I am sorry to hear about your Mom's condition! My Dad had them years ago - but I don't recall what he did for the pain. My husband got the shingles shot last year, since his insurance covered it. So I really am no help, but will be thinking about her and praying she recovers soon!!
 
Im so sorry to hear this!! I will pray that she gets better sooner than later! And no one that is caring for her gets it!! I had no idea it was contagious!
 
Both my husband and I have had the shots with no reaction. He did get shingles round the side of his head a couple years later. Definitely stress and a lowered immune system. I try to do a lot of energy work for myself and goodwilling avoid it. DH did get the cortisone cream but mostly you just have to let it go its course. imho, men suffer more with it if you know what I mean.
 
My sister in law had shingles a few years ago, definitely stress related. Sorry, no tips on treatment but I did get the shingles vaccine a couple of years ago with no ill effects.
 
gonewiththewind said:
Hubby has had it twice, and both times he was under a lot of stress at work. The first time he wasn't sure what it was and so by the time he was seen and diagnosed, it was too far past getting a shot and/or medication (I don't remember which) and the second time he thought he had caught it early enough, but his doctor still wouldn't give it to him. He was so frustrated! I know we used the spray that you can put on sunburns that helped him numb the skin. Other than that, I'm drawing a blank. I'll be praying that she heals quickly!
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Thank you for the sun spray idea. I just talked to mom and so far she is just uncomfortable but the medicine the doctor gave her seems to be helping and is not making her nauseous anymore. Thank you so much for answering my thread. Debby
 
My son had shingles when he was 14 yrs old! He wore a weight belt in gym that another kid wore, and the kid then found out he had chicken pox! It made my son get shingles all over his trunk area. I hope she feels relief from this soon!
 
I have an aunt who has ongoing health issues, and who gets shingles basically every time she is over stressed. It is misery. I do think a talk with your doctor is your best bet. I live in Ontario, and adults between 65 and 70 are now being given the vaccine for free. They have some pretty good basic info on shingles and the vaccine, here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-free-shingles-vaccine. It might help you figure out how to ask the right questions to your doctor. (Also, if you had chickenpox as a kid, you can't catch varicella (the virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles) twice. If you do have a shingles outbreak that means that the varicella virus was already in your body, and that you for some reason (stress, recent illness) had a bit of a lapse in your immune system).
 
meterr said:
My son had shingles when he was 14 yrs old! He wore a weight belt in gym that another kid wore, and the kid then found out he had chicken pox! It made my son get shingles all over his trunk area. I hope she feels relief from this soon!
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My nephew had it when he was 12. He was misdiagnosed at first because the children's hospital just wasn't used to seeing it. It's an "old person" disease! I guess what happened is that for a while, kids were getting vaccinated against the chickenpox once. But what they found is that those kids who only got the one shot weren't getting chickenpox when they were in pre-school, but were coming up with shingles in high school. They have now switched to giving kids two doses of the vaccine, and that has solved the problem. Is this similar to what happened to your son?
 
Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear that you Mom has the shingles. I don't have any experience, so I just pray she gets better quickly and that nobody else gets it while you're helping her. Sounds like you have lots of great suggestions above for remedies to make her comfortable.
 
lilusmom said:
Thank you for the sun spray idea. I just talked to mom and so far she is just uncomfortable but the medicine the doctor gave her seems to be helping and is not making her nauseous anymore. Thank you so much for answering my thread. Debby
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Absolutely! Glad to hear that she is doing a bit better. Will continue to pray - I know she is miserable!
 
I had mild form 2 years ago on my neck to my ear... and in my ear.. very painful but thankful it was mild.. I went to the doc and they gave me the medication that began with V.. like I said it was mild.. mine was only a bit over 2 weeks but some have it longer with severe issues. I hope you Mom will be ok an that she has the mildest of forms.. yes it is said to be brought on by stress. My BFF gets it internally in her esophogus and such plus scalp.. painful. Hope your Mom feels better soon.
 
Nemla said:
Within the first few days, the doc can give medication, that stops it from developing fully, check if it has been discovered early enough, it is expensive ,but worth it. After that not much you can do apart from let it take its course, and keep her comfortable. My mum had it badly,it is definitely one of the ones to try to avoid. Lots of vitamins and relaxing herb teas for you, while you look after her. Crossing fingers.
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That is exactly why I think mine was mild as I caught it quick and got the meds fast.
 
Shingles felt like I was being eaten from the inside by bugs. It was AWFUL. I had it at 25, and because I had no clue what it was, and I was still breastfeeding my son (he was 6 months old) he got chickenpox from my shingles outbreak. I felt horrible and extremely bad that I had made my sweet little baby sick. I was under a large amount of stress, as my husband's US Navy ship was gearing up for his first 6 month deployment and the ship they were replacing (the USS Cole) was bombed in the Persian Gulf.

The doctor who dx me gave me some kind of numbing cream, which helped a tiny bit on the blisters. My pain was more in the nerves themselves, and it started at the spot where I had gotten my epidural when giving birth to my son, in the middle of my back, then wrapped around my torso. It was the worst thing. It took a few weeks to get a bit better, but I was so concerned about my little guy and his chicken pox that I relapsed a few weeks later and they got worse again.

I hope your mom feels better soon, and I would look into the vaccine, if I were you. Unfortunately, my insurance won't approve it for me, even though I have a history of it, because I am still under 50.
 
Juliestcyr said:
My nephew had it when he was 12. He was misdiagnosed at first because the children's hospital just wasn't used to seeing it. It's an "old person" disease! I guess what happened is that for a while, kids were getting vaccinated against the chickenpox once. But what they found is that those kids who only got the one shot weren't getting chickenpox when they were in pre-school, but were coming up with shingles in high school. They have now switched to giving kids two doses of the vaccine, and that has solved the problem. Is this similar to what happened to your son?
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I did not know about the one shot problem. I was wondering why so many young people were getting it. Both of my kids got the chicken pox when they were little. They are 28 and 26 so it must have been before the shots. Debby
 
KayTeaPea said:
Shingles felt like I was being eaten from the inside by bugs. It was AWFUL. I had it at 25, and because I had no clue what it was, and I was still breastfeeding my son (he was 6 months old) he got chickenpox from my shingles outbreak. I felt horrible and extremely bad that I had made my sweet little baby sick. I was under a large amount of stress, as my husband's US Navy ship was gearing up for his first 6 month deployment and the ship they were replacing (the USS Cole) was bombed in the Persian Gulf.

The doctor who dx me gave me some kind of numbing cream, which helped a tiny bit on the blisters. My pain was more in the nerves themselves, and it started at the spot where I had gotten my epidural when giving birth to my son, in the middle of my back, then wrapped around my torso. It was the worst thing. It took a few weeks to get a bit better, but I was so concerned about my little guy and his chicken pox that I relapsed a few weeks later and they got worse again.

I hope your mom feels better soon, and I would look into the vaccine, if I were you. Unfortunately, my insurance won't approve it for me, even though I have a history of it, because I am still under 50.
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Wow, that sounds horrible! So sorry you had to go through that. The thing that we used to do in my day, was to actually expose our kids to chicken Pox and Mumps and Measles because that were so much easier to have them when young. Of course no one wanted sick kids but getting the "childhood diseases" was so much better than getting than as an adult. My sil got chicken pox as an adult and it was terrible. She was so sick that to get around she actually had to crawl since she was so weak. I hope the baby got a light case of them. Debby
 
As an update to all you sweeties that have sent so many comments of encouragement, my mom's condition is that the blisters are just beginning to burst. She is still in a lot of pain. She can only sleep on one side and it is very hard with her copd to stay in one position. But thank goodness it does not go all the way around. As far as I am concerned, I was told not to get the shot as it is a live (yet weak) virus and people with low immune systems can get shingles from the vaccine. I have had a reactivation of the hhv6 (Roseola) virus that has left me with cronic fatigue. I am also bipolar and have ptsd. So it is best that I take my chances when I go to she her. I will take as many precautions as I can when I go there. Again, thank you all for your comments. Debby
 
Juliestcyr said:
I have an aunt who has ongoing health issues, and who gets shingles basically every time she is over stressed. It is misery. I do think a talk with your doctor is your best bet. I live in Ontario, and adults between 65 and 70 are now being given the vaccine for free. They have some pretty good basic info on shingles and the vaccine, here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-free-shingles-vaccine. It might help you figure out how to ask the right questions to your doctor. (Also, if you had chickenpox as a kid, you can't catch varicella (the virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles) twice. If you do have a shingles outbreak that means that the varicella virus was already in your body, and that you for some reason (stress, recent illness) had a bit of a lapse in your immune system).
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Thank you for the link. My two brothers and all got the pox at the beginning of our summer break. Then we all got mumps! Not a good summer for us or our mom! But as I have said in my update, I have been told not to take the shot as my immune system is not very good so I will have to take my chances that I can take the proper precautions when I am there (hand washing, not applying any medications and having mom keep them covered as best she can). My mom is definitely worth taking my chances. I love her so much and don't know how much time I have left with her. It is so hard to watch her have issues on top of her major issues. Debby
 
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