Can We Talk 2

Shingles

         Go to your doctor as soon as you notice a problem. Warning signs that are easy to excuse or overlook are body aches, like you're getting the flu, or you exercised a muscle too much. There's usually no fever or nausea. It may start with a small red dot or big red blisters.

         The doctor will prescribe something for the actual virus, but the rest may depend on your situation/health and the doctor's reluctance to prescribe drugs, even creams.
When you go to pick up the prescription, look for lidocaine. It may be prescribed in greater strength. The store brand my be pure lidocaine and it comes in sprays or creams. You don't want the patch version to place on blisters. Other big brand names include some lidocaine but will have other things. My doctor simply told me lotion or anti-itch creams were acceptable. But the pain is too much for an anti-itch cream. I needed something to numb the skin, and you will, too.

         The medicine is for 10 days. The doctor said the sores would scab up and pop off. Wrong. They get more painful with time. The nervous system just goes wacky. A slight wave of the t-shirt fabric sends shooting pain in all directions and lasts a long time. Pressing your hand hard against it hurts but doesn't send a shock through your hold body. Lying down or sitting against a padded chair a long time aren't as bad as having your clothes brushing against you.

         You will not be contagious, so you are safe to mingle if you are able. Don't go around newborns or small children who have not been vaccinated for chickenpox. My neighbor, a doctor, said as long as the blisters are covered, you cannot pass the virus.

         The blisters are usually only on one side of the body at a time. They form a band. Mine are right at the waist, so every bend, reach, twist pulls at them. The first time I had them, over 30 years ago, they were on my chest and rib cage. I had a friend who had them in her hair, which fell out; it grew back over the following year.

         If you have not been vaccinated, do so as soon as your insurance allows. I've been vaccinated twice. The first time was the old method, one shot which only lasts about a decade. The second one was supposed to be permanent-a two-part series of a breakthrough medicine. Dada! My doctor told me now the vaccine doesn't guarantee prevention. It just lessens the possibility.

         I have been stuck in a chair, moving as little as possible, sometimes screaming out in pain. Today after a second dose of Tylenol, I went to the store and bout Lidocaine. I am guessing I'm on the uphill climb anyway, but I am sprayed enough to feel itching setting in. Itching is a less intense kind of pain, so I guess the spray is working.