Shingles Shmingles .. we go way back!

About a week ago I started getting an ear ache-nothing new, I get them all the time and most the time they don't stay for more than a few days. I know it's a bad one when my chin starts to itch. 96% of the time the ear ache is accompanied by a lovely rash on my chin that itches like no other. Usually it's fairly small and goes unnoticed by many unless I point it out. This ache was no different .. first the ache, then the itch ... only this itch seemed a little more intense -it hurt worse than the ache. It turned out to be the biggest rash I have had yet. I asked 4 of the 5 pharmacists I work for to take a look and they were all baffled. None of them had any idea what it could be or why it would be related to my ear ache.

I asked my Mom about it and she had a few ideas but nothing that I agreed with -Like I know anything ... I count pills all day long and fight with insurance companies! Finally I asked her opinion one more time and her guess what shingles .. So ... I jumped online and had a little chat with my favorite internet friend - Mr Google and I go way back - and Mom was right. Who knew!?!? Mom's always know there stuff .. I should have believed her the first time.


The picture I found when I googled Shingles .. Mine looked EXACTLY like this a few days ago.

Gross ...

My chin yesterday ... It's finally starting to get better and doesn't itch nearly as bad.

In googling shingles I also read that they don't normally come back (which doesn't explain why 96% of the time I have one with the ear ol' ache) and they can be caused by a weak immune systems because of stress, injury, or certain medications.

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus "sleeps" (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

You can't catch shingles from someone else who has shingles.

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