Anyone had that before?
I know it can spread from person to person, but was wondering whether it can spread to other parts of the body on one person.
Not had it but seen it often enough. Can hurt like a farker!
More about it here:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/shingles_doc.htm
HG
I got it in high school and was off school and bedridden for several days. Fucking excruciating, but as I was young and it wasn’t on my face, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Older people often get it on the face and I cannot even conceive of how painful that must be.
Shingles is suppossed ot happen if you’ve already had chickenpox.
I just got chickenpox twice. Really.
Brian
I just spent a week in hospital last month from shingles. It erupted in my ear. I lost my balance, got a very bad ear infection, and bell’s paulsy. I had to take antiviral medication, intravenous antibiotics and steroids.
I did have some pox on my torso, but between the room spinning, and my drug regime I hardly noticed it. The balance problem lasted for about two weeks.
My advice is don’t let yourself get run down. I’ve been taking spirulina to build up my immune system. It’s basically dried blue-green alge and tastes like your drinking from a drain.
Where do you get the sprirulina, and is it reasonably priced/
Brian
Hi Brian,
I got it from an organic health food store. They have it in pill and powdered form. The powdered form is for mixing with juice and water. Why anyone would do that is beyond me as it is trully disgusting. The pills go down fast, and are far less nausiating as a result.
I’m not sure of the price. I think it’s about 6 or 700, but might be cheaper, for a month’s supply.
It really works. In a recent study in England for elderly people receiving flu vaccines, the group that took the spirulina, had a substantial increase in their immune responce the vaccine than the control group. They had to take it for 4 weeks prior to the injections.
I hope that’s helpful.
Interesting stories!
Altho no one answered my question 
It’s okay, i’ll go ask a doctor or something.
Aceman. If you checked the link you would have seen the answer. No, it can’t “spread” to other parts of the body, but it can emerge on other parts of the body. It’s not actually an infection as such, rather the manifestation of an infection.
HG
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Aceman. If you checked the link you would have seen the answer. No, it can’t “spread” to other parts of the body, but it can emerge on other parts of the body. It’s not actually an infection as such, rather the manifestation of an infection.
HG[/quote]
Now I am confused. What is the difference?
Well, some people shag chickens and get the pox . . some years later they feel real bad about it and …
Best you read here.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/shingles.htm
HG
Uh, I’ve read all the websites there are about shingles. They do not provide an answer. That’s why I came here. Well nevermind, i’ll go ask a doc.
Aceman, read the links! They’re pretty clear. You’re going to get shingles just once in your life, or maybe twice if you are really unlucky.
You get 'em in one place, (or maybe two as in Fox’s case-- you poor bugger!) per attack – they won’t hit you on the torso and then move somewhere else during the same attack, but if you get another attack a few years later, it could be either on the torso or the face.
And btw, if your post was made because you think you might have shingles but they’re disappearing and reappearing here and there on your body? Don’t worry – they 'aint shingles. If they were, you would have already seen a doctor, who would have already set your mind at rest. Trust me, there is no way in hell you’d be able to tolerate the pain of shingles without heavy medication!
how the hell will algae boost your immune system?
Aren’t you the guy involved in some kind of biological/genetic/biotech field? (I remember your fascinating links about those orchids with firefly genes).
So find it hard to believe you don’t the answer to the above question. Anyway, as I’m sure you know by now, the thingys in the algae get into your bloodstream, where they attach themselves to the good bits in the blood, covering them with sticky green slime (you’ve seen algae, haven’t you?). This means, of course, that the bad things in the blood have no way of getting at the good bits, so Bob’s your uncle. Simple biology, really.
Swell, another thing to dread… 
If you have movable splotches that itch like crazy, it sounds like a severe allergic reaction to something. I had such an experience sleeping on a blanket that had been home to a cat for a month (unbeknownst to me) and had splotches everywhere…and they moved. It would have been interesting if I was not in such agony.
An antihystamine injection worked magic in about five minutes.
(I love it when sick people turn to us experts on Forumosa… 
An OTC antihistamine plus a topical cortisone skin cream will do the trick if its just an allergic reaction. Dont forget to bathe in lukewarm water and overall avoid irritating the skin. But the hard thing is figuring out what the allergy is, you have to do some private investigation work sometimes to figure out when it started and why. Once you figure it out, remove the stimulus. Wash all sheets and clothes once for good measure, just in case its something in your clothing.
Umm . . . I came down with them during a 'round-the-continent drive back in 1993. The physician didn’t prescribe any painkillers. I tolerated the pain until the shingles outbreak went away.
Not a big deal. I just didn’t know what it was until I talked to the doc; it was painful enough that I was quite worried.
Reviving an old thread:
So, erm, does this mean that I’m getting my “single” case of the shingles out of the way right now? If so, then, knock on wood…cool. The doc gave me a week’s supply of famciclovir and some acyclovir ointment, and said that should clear it up (actually, I paid $260 CAD for those two items–ouch!).
It’s pretty minor, just a small outbreak on the ribcage area. It’s the result of pretending to be Lance Armstrong on my bike and riding very hard for 450 kms over the past two weeks when I wasn’t sitting at my desk for 14 hours each day squeezing out translation projects on tight deadlines. I need to learn how to pace myself, but I like to go fast, and the pain and fatigue from cycling is pleasurable, even addictive.
I’m 41 years old. When will I ever learn? I mean, seriously…shingles? That’s something your grandfather gets.
I had shingles when I was 29. I was suffering from depression and went to see my doctor about that. At the end of the visit, almost as an afterthought, I said “Oh, and I’ve got a rash on my waist - do you think I might have been bitten by bedbugs?” and pulled up my shirt to show him. He immediately identified it as herpes zoster, and explained that if you have had chicken pox the virus stays with you, dormant in your spinal nerves. If it erupts as shingles, it will inflame nerves that come round your body from your spine, thus forming a belt or half-belt effect. He told me it was a virus and would go away in a week or two without medicine, but he did prescribe antidepressants and counselling.
For me the sensation was numb and not terribly painful.
What I find interesting is that the shingles attack coincided with depression. I guess the depression may have caused the shingles incident by lowering my immunity somehow.