To ask if you've had shingles.

[FuckingFabulous]

And to ask you to sympathise with me!! My youngest DS has just had his school bubble closed AGAIN, so he misses his very first school trip, meeting his new teacher, sports day and the class party. His bubble only reopened a week ago! He's had four closures since March. So he's miserable, because he was looking forward to all of those things on a countdown chart and needs a lot of cuddles and playing with.

My oldest DD is still struggling with her neuro symptoms which have all ramped up massively this week and means I need to be very hands on.

And I've got shingles! Oh, my fucking GOD, the pain! It's horrific!! I've been given morphine in the past for lesser agony than this! So I've got to give all the cuddles, play all the games, provide all the care, and I can't even bear someone breathing on my skin. It's all down my right arm, over the shoulder and up my neck into my hair. Feels like my arm is both broken and being flayed 😭😭

Told a school mum whose DD was meant to be hanging out with DD here today that my youngest is isolating again and I've got shingles so unfortunately I'll have to cancel and she went, "shingles? Really? That's not really a bad thing to have. Just a bit spotty!" Yeah, if all the spots were full of scalding water and broken glass and fire ants!

I could have written @AmyDudley post, I first got shingles 6 years ago after a bout of flu, however I since learned that the flu type illness could have been the start of the shingles. The pain and itching was horrendous, even a light t-shirt caused horrible pain. My patch of blisters was on my right shoulder blade but the pain went right round to the side of my breast, the pain wasn't constant but it makes you gasp and tense up when it comes. I still have intense itching in the area where that first bout was.

I get flare ups when I am run down/ill or stressed although I know the signs to look out for and get antivirals as soon as I feel it coming on.

Try wetting a flannel, wringing it out and put in a food bag in the freezer, or a hot water bottle filled with icy cold water might help.

I've had shingles and by God was it uncomfortable, absolutely no pain like it,mine was on one side and all up my back,what I found great for it was Aloe Vera gel straight from the fridge,it really helped

I had no idea you could get shingles in your mouth! You poor folks that suffer that.

I've had shingles twice, once down the back of my thigh and the other from my neck down my back. The thigh one was utterly horrendous, took ages to heal too.

How long do the blisters take to be fully out? I'm on day three of the rash