Hi oct25,

I can understand why you are confused. I would recommend that you read our Herpes FAQ.

I don't understand your first question?

It is posible to diagnose Shingles just by looking at the rash, if you are a trained and experienced doctor. If you are unsure, you can have a test at your doctors.

Herpes is a family of viruses. Shingles is a reactivation of the Herpes virus Varicella Herpes Zoster that causes chickenpox, mainly in children. It cannot cause any other Herpes illnesses (Genital Herpes or Oral Herpes) and is not an STD.

Are you sure you haven't had chickenpox? Check with your parents. Maybe you had a very mild version? Have you had the chickenpox vaccine?

Shingles is not contagious because it is a reactivation of a virus that is already in your body.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

iv

Just saw this website and thought I would give my two cents for what it us worth. I contracted chickenpox at 21 from my son (did not know what I had until I went to the doctor) and had to be hospitalized. I was, to say the least, very sick. Two months later, while working for an orthopaedic surgeon, I was diagnosed by him as having herpes zoster (which I had no idea what that was!) and had this ONLY on my right heel. Since that time, 23 years ago, I have had recurrence about every two to three months, sometimes sooner. I have had recurrence on my LEFT underarm (scars to prove it), RIGHT buttock, RIGHT Heel, RIGHT back and RIGHT underarm. This HAS traveled to both sides of my body and I have documented doctor visits (various doctors) to prove it. And oh by the way, not all doctors know what they are looking at. I know every time before I am going to break out as I become very ill. I have never broke out any where else yet MOST, IF NOT ALL, doctors believe it is impossible for recurrence of shingles for 23 years or to have it on BOTH sides of the body. Contact me if you have any questions.

well kinda- I recently had what i thought was ringworm a couple of months ago, but described to my doctor ( it was gone by the time I wnnt) and he said possibly herpes and let him know and come back if it recurs- and it did - this week- its located on my lower back right above my buttocks - I am soooo worried because i have been on the internet and now i realixw it may not be shingles, because appearantly the other herpes (STI) can be located on other body parts as well! I am soooo worried. I had chicken pox at age 21, and it seems that my age group should not be experiencing shingles, so i am going crazy and wondering if it is herpes simplex- is there any way to tell the difference?

I am a 33 year old female. I am currently experienceing my 4-5 reoccurence with Shingles. I have Systemic Lupus (autoimmune diease) and have for 4 years been treated immunesuppressives (Immuran) and Cortisone. I did have Chickenpox as a child Kindergarten age I think. I always get a small group of blisters in the middle of the back of my left thigh. I ussually notice them when I sit down and think I sat on a tack! The first 2 times I ignored it and it went away in about 2 weeks. Later times I have been treated with antivirals. It ussually is not painful, just annoying, and goes away in a few weeks only to return in a year or two. It is a cycle, my Lupus is well controlled with the immunsuppressives, a few days ago I got a Cold, with a slight fever, Yesterday morning the blisters appeared, I started treatment hours later, and by evening my Lupus became active with a high fever, overall muscle aches, and chest pains (pericarditis). A high dose of Cortisone early to bed and today I am feeling ok! It is possible to get Shingles more than once especially when you have a problem with your immune system. A simple examination of the fluid from a blister under a microscope can answer which HHV I-VI you have. I think this is called a Tzanack smear.

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I am hoping that you still visit this website as your message was so long ago. I have never done this forum thing before, nor anything like it but I need hope. Like you, I get the shingles often: approximately once a month for 2 1/2 years. It comes out on my lower back / upper buttock (right side) and once on the top of my right foot. I have been on Valtrex everyday - 3 grams a day - and it doesn't prevent the outbreaks. My pain just keeps getting worse. I take Lyrica which is great in between outbreaks, but not nearly enough during them. I also become very ill with flu-like symptoms some of the time. What's weird and no doctor can explain is that by fingers become horribly painful right before an outbreak. In the beginning that would subside, but not anymore. I have been tested for Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc. and all are negative. The Rheumatologist is convinced it had to do with the shingles, but the Infectious Disease MD has never heard of that. I can not find any info anywhere about any of the herpes viruses affecting the fingers. It is supposed to be rare to get the shingles repeatedly, so maybe the only people who would know would be us "rare" individuals. I would like to know how you feel now. Are you still getting the shingles? How have you gotten through life living with such pain? I haven't worked since this started. Well, even without the pain, it's contagious and I worked in a bank. Do you work and if so, how? I feel as though my life has ended and I just exist....in pain and sleeping from the medications. You must be a very strong person. I always was, but this has me beat down. I must be honest, your 23 years depresses me. I was hoping to find a way to stop the outbreaks and the thought of maybe never being able to do that makes me sick to my stomach. No cure, and it's not terminal. I think that is the worst situation possible. I have always been a positive, happy-go-lucky, full of life and energy, fun-loving person. I was like that through 18 surgeries and many women's health issues which were painful. I'm not me anymore and want to be me again. Is there hope?

I have just read your post and am sitting here with my jaw dropped. You are going through exactly the hell I have endured for the last 3 years. It started out with what doctors thought was shingles. It first reared it's nasty head when I was 7 weeks pregnant. It started on my back-waistline. At first it was just extremely itchy but then after so many months of having it every other 2 weeks I started getting alot of pain in my lower back. The doctors and I thought it was just aches and pains of my joints and ligaments being stretched form pregnancy. The frequent outbreaks continued and by the time my son was 9 monthes old and I stopped breast feeding, and was still getting outbreak after outbreak, it was then that the doctors raised some eyebrows and began wondering why I was getting the outbreaks. They all kept saying that normally a person gets it once and recurring shingles usually only happen with a comprommised immune system. So off to the Infectious Disease Clinic at the U of Michigan I went. The ended up doing a culture from a blister on my back and were shocked when it came back as herpes simplex and not zoster. By this time the rash kept popping up in new places. My left and right side waistline and left buttocks. The pain becomming overwhelming. They started prescribing pain killers and sent me to a pain clinic. So for the last 2 years I have been feeling just like you lookingforhope. Not one of the many doctors and specialist I have been to has ever seen a case like mine. I've been to rheumatologists, pain clinic, neck and spine specialist and in a few days a neurologist. Not only is the pain where my breakouts are horrible, but for the last 1 1/2 years I have horrible pain in my fingers, hands and forearms everyday and when I have a breakout on my back the pain is tripled with pain in my neck. The rheumatologist I just saw thinks that the virus have messed with my nervous system because all of the blood test that he has done is coming back fine. But I will definately post after I hear what this neurologist has to say. Godd luck to everyone!

Hi, I have a patch on my left leg/hamstring area that has been coming out since I was 19. My doctor told me that I probably had chicken pox as a child but it wasn't bad enough for anyone to notice. (as far as I know-I never had chicken pox). Anyway...I would get an outbreak about every 2-3 years. I got pregnant at 39 and had 2 outbreaks during pregnancy and 3 since delivering....the baby is almost a year. I too know when I am going to have an outbreak...my leg gets itchy and hot about a day before a swollen lump appears and then the small pimples. Are there doctors that specialize in treating this?

I would get in contact with an infectious disease specialist and see if they will have you come in as soon as you have an outbreak. They will take some fluid from the blisters and send it to a lab to see what type it is. U of Michigan infectious disease clinic diagnosed me with simplex but bot the resident and attending doctors had never seen a case like this. Even the pain specialist, rheumatologist and neurologist that I have seen has never had a patient with HSV where I have it. It's all still quite a mystery and very aggrevating that I am not getting many answers from the doctors. They know that I have neurological symptoms but not nerve damage. I do take valtrex when I break out and it does shorten the duration but the pain is still horrible. When I was taking the valtrex as an everyday suppressive therapy it began to not work so well. I think my body became tolerant to the valtrex. But now, as soon as I start feeling the itchy-prickly-burning sensation, I take it 2X a day. If anyone else has experienced this type of case PLEASE post. Hope this helped judyc.

This is absolutely right!!!