On holiday and think I have shingles - is it vital I see a GP?

[PuppyMonkey]

I’m in Skye at the moment, have had bad pain in my back all week and now a v itchy rash - not able to sleep very well. I nipped to a chemist here today who said he thought it looked like shingles. Yay.

He seemed to think there was no point going to a local GP and to just put calomine lotion on and take painkillers. Don’t really fancy spending hours waiting to see a GP here tbh, but not sure if I should actually be doing just that. We leave Skye tomorrow and then will be travelling home over next two days - so I can try and see GP on Monday / Tuesday if necessary.

WWYD?

Have added pic in case anyone can diagnose alternative problem!

Yes cocodamol has codine in it.

Sorry, took so long to reply that I cross posted with just about everybody!
Hope you manage to get seen and gp offers you something to help.

As it crosses over your spine it's not shingles. Shingles follows the nerves and is very painful. You only get it on one side of the body never both.

You poor thing. It can be miserable.

Just a note, please stay away from anyone having chemotherapy/cancer treatment.

When my DH was having chemotherapy, he had a card to carry (Acute Oncology Alert Card) which says to contact the hospital immediately if "you come into contact with either shingles or chicken pox". Presumably these are especially risky to some cancer patients.

Get well soon.

donkir is right. As it crosses over your spine, it can’t be shingles.

Oh I hadn’t seen it was both sides of the spine......could it be midge bites? Isn’t Scotland bad for midges?

When dd had shingles I didn’t realise what it was and she’d just come back from a hostel trip in Paris and I thought they were flea bite/insect bites. Then took her to the GP the next day because she couldn’t walk and her lymph node in her groin on one side had really come up. Gp took one look and said shingles, but I wouldn’t have known.

Are they fluid filled?

I assumed it was insect bites too at first tbh, it was my sister who first suggested shingles. It’s the weird pain and ache I’ve got right at the spot that’s something a bit different to any bite or allergic reaction I’ve had previously.

Ah well, hopefully doctor will rule shingles out altogether if s/he sees it. Wonder what else it could be?

I can’t really say if they’re fluid filled, they’re very sore when I touch or put pressure on.

Should say, it was my sister who first suggested shingles and that’s why I nipped in to see pharmacist - he said he thought shingles as soon as he saw.

I'm going against the grain. It looks like it "crosses the midline", which shingles never does.

I would see a gp. Dh had it last year when our dd was a few weeks old and he was given antivirals. It stopped it in its tracks.

The textbooks say shingles never crosses the midline, but in practice it sometimes does, and that looks a lot like shingles to me. Glad you are going to the GP, hope you feel better soon

Well the pain and ache certainly sounds like shingles.

Shingles can cross the midline, that just isn't the most common presentation.

It could also be HSV-2, this can cause lesions across the lower back and buttocks, often in small patches like OP's photos.

Well I saw a doctor and she confirmed it is indeed shingles. So I’m obviously an odd case where the rash crosses the midline.

Got my anti viral tablets. Doc says they should help speed up recovery and I’ve got ibuprofen to help with pain. If it gets really bad I might have to go back bd get something stronger. Not codeine though for me.

Thanks for all the help. Got to pack for home now, just feel like having a lie down.

My grans shingles met at midline anyway how rotten for you especially travelling home do you have far ? They will be sore but hopefully your medicaton kicks in and brufen is best for the nerve pain

Is it OK to take ibuprofen with shingles op? I know they say not to with the pox?

Doc said ibuprofen was ideal!

Got a pretty long journey home to East Midlands - involves a detour to Berwick upon Tweed and Middlesbrough for various complicated reAsons. What larks.

I had a great argument with two separate GPs when I had shingles who were adamant it wasn't that because it crossed the mid-line. In the end anti virals were prescribed by the third Dr who was much older than the others and had seen it a few times before.

Feel better OP and enjoy the rest of your holiday as much as you can.

Flower, I just saw something on google saying it crosses the midline in about 20 percent of cases, so it’s not THAT rare then.

It is funny now but at the time I was in so much pain, I think the last Dr gave me them partly because he had seen it before and mostly to stop me crying and make me leave 😁

Glad you've got antivirals OP, my 7yo currently had shingles. We've kept her rash well covered and I've put sudocrem on it. She wasn't given antivirals as the rash had been there 4 days already. It's now crusting over but looked like big clusters of chicken pox at its worst. Hopefully you'll avoid that.

You are not supposed to take Ibuprofen with shingles,i dont know why, but google it,i was told not to, and virasoothe [spray or gel] is better than sudocreme as it numbs the pain and itching

My d dad had it years ago. Saw gp quickly got some pills. He recovered very quickly. No lasting damage.

My d grandad (granted much older) didn't get pills from his useless uncaring gp. Had nerve damage behind his eye which never went away. It was just miserable for him. Makes me want to cry just thinking about him.

Find a gp op. Or a walk in centre. Failing that pay for an online consultation with a private gp online.

And for anyone who qualifies for the jab go get it if you've not had it. Xx

www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1004174/shingles-chicken-pox-rash-symptoms-ibuprofen-dr-ranj-this-morning

Some tv doctor says avoid ibuprofen but nhs inform website says take it.