I Have Shingles

I woke up on Sunday morning with a pain in the neck. Just the back of my left neck. The day before, I'd gone for a walk to the Inner Harbor, and had carried Cat in my arms and occasionally on my shoulder. 'Must be muscle pain,' I thought.

By Sunday night, the pain had gotten sharper, and felt like it was in my scalp. And there were some itchy bumps on my skin behind my ear. 'Hmm,' I thought, 'pain localized on one side of the body. A rash developing... Shingles? ...crap!'

I googled "shingles", and was relieved that none of the pictures looked like what I had. I didn't want Cat Tien to get chickenpox, so on Monday morning I went to the doctor to rule out shingles. The doctor, to my relief, said she thought it was an allergic reaction, and gave me a topical ointment.

By Tuesday morning, additional spots had developed on my neck. These looked redder and madder, and formed clusters. I called another doctor to be seen for a second opinion.

There was little doubt I had shingles. Along with the shooting pain in my scalp, the red spots were distributed exactly in one region of nerve endings (C3, the purple area in the diagram). The virus, apparently, only attacks one region of nerve endings at a time.

We called our pediatrician immediately. Cat will be getting a chickenpox vaccine tomorrow. If she does get chickenpox from me, the vaccine will lessen the severity. For the duration, though, I plan to cover my head and mouth in hope that Cat hasn't been exposed to the virus yet.



Update (Wednesday, 3/25/09)
The shooting pains I experienced on Monday and Tuesday have gone away. Was it because of the anti-viral medication I started on Tuesday night? Itchiness, on the other hand, seems to have increased along with the number of spots. Seems that the head covering, silly as it looks, helps keep my impulse to scratch at bay.


Update (Thursday, 3/26/09)
Cat Tien got her chickenpox vaccine yesterday. She barely cried when the nurse gave her the shot. What a baby! Seems she really enjoyed getting out of the house. That's a picture of her in her exersaucer right after she got home (Cat's Ready For Her High Chair). No change in status for me. Still taking the anti-virals.


Update (Friday, 3/27/09)
With luck, this is a milder case of shingles. The red spots around my neck have stabilized -- even reduced? The bumps behind my ear seem to have flattened a little. Pain and itchiness are much worse at night, not so bad during the day. I'm still hopeful that Cat hasn't gotten anything. I'm reassured by the NIH article which said that shingles can only be spread from contact with open sores, and that the virus does not reside in the lungs so coughing and breathing won't spread it.


Update (Monday, 3/30/09)
I think we're on our way to full-recovery. The spots have been crusting over since Saturday. The remaining itchiness seems to be because of this, rather than the shingles. Still have the occasional twinge of pain in my scalp above my left ear, and there continues to be pain in a swollen gland of some sort under the left ear and between my jaw and neck. Hope there won't be any permanent neurolgical effects.


Update (Friday, 4/3/09)
Completely recovered. Shingles shroud retired for a few more decades. Most importantly, Cat is chickenpox-free!