Shingles Support Group

Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. It occurs very rarely in children and adults, but its incidence is high in the elderly (over 60), as well as in any age group of immunocompromised patients.

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AusSue 06/17/2010

I get excema as well so it can be very hard to tell what is what.
I have got sores on my legs & now 2 on my nose. they are more like holes in the skin & bleeding. One of the ones on the leg formed a blister which burst & pussy. The nose one's keep bleeding. They look like they are holes in the skin if that makes sense?
They are all burning sore & tingly rather than itchy. Cant get into Dr till tomorrow so will see what she says. Its only I was at physio this morn & one of the girls said my nose looks like shingles. She said hers was like that.
I have had shingles at least 3 other times & always on trunk & look more like pink lumps etc.
Any ideas would be great.
Thanks

deleted_user 06/17/2010

I would think it odd that they would be on your nose AND on your legs for shingles, that's pretty far apart, but I am no expert. Are they on the SAME side? Do the HURT? Those are two significant clues.

deleted_user 06/18/2010

I would think itching was my biggest symptom. Also, shingles usually follows a nerve - so the possibility of the blisters being that disconnected is not likely. Mine were all on my upper right arm. The itching was so deep and bad I could't sleep. Because I was away from home, and I have lots of allergies, (so I thought it was some kind of allergic reaction) it was weeks before I got a diagnosis. Then it took another 4 months to heal, and it still hurts, although the blisters are gone.

Make sure you get a doctor to get a test to see if it is herpes zoster. Otherwise, you will never know for sure.

AusSue 06/19/2010

Thanks for your replies. The Dr checked nose, one side of forehead & face, right arm & leg as all had the sores by the time I got to her. I was in agony & shaking from chill (unusual as I feel heat with ms) & she said that they dont look like shingles but more like a bad infection that is running through my body. She gave me antibiotics & said to use the cortisone ointment on all but the face which I have a gentler cream for.
So glad it isnt shingles, she said if they do blister to go there straight away too.
Thanks again

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