Tingling in face

[ottolenghi]

For the past couple of weeks I've been experiencing a tingling feeling in my face and cheek. It's not painful, it's just there, and annoying.

I've tried to get a doctors appointment but they're so booked up that they only have emergency appointments which I can never get as the phone is engaged. By the time I get through there are none left.

So, anyone, until I can see a doctor (which I may do privately) what could cause tingling on my forehead and cheek?

When they say no appointments left, have you told them your symptoms? Would they squeeze you in, in an emergency? Nobody can diagnose you over the Internet but that's a symptom that really needs assessing properly by a health professional.

@MarvinMarvinson I explained to them and that I have a 5 month old baby so need to be able to sleep, but they said I had to call again in the morning. I know I'll try again and won't get through. It's infuriating but not sure what else I can do.

It is infuriating. It might be worth ringing out of hours. It's often easier to get seen. Do you have walk ins in your area? Have you got any loss of movement in the face?

@MarvinMarvinson more than likely, I'll have a look but from what I can remember they're all nurse led. No loss of movement. I have a weird tingly feeling in my right cheek and just above my eyebrow. I did have shingles on this side of my face a couple of years ago but, this feels totally different and I can't imagine it would flare up again randomly 2 years later... this feels very different

I have also been getting this same feeling in a patch on my back too but I put this down to weird sleeping position due to co-sleeping.

Hi OP

Shingles can and does flare up again from time to time. That's what is is - a reactivation of the chicken pox virus, and it tends to strike when you're run down in some way.

The tingling could be lots of things (shingles, vitamin deficiency, nerve reaction due to awkward sleeping position, and some less likely but more serious things...) but I agree it does need checking out.

Keep calling your GP surgery, and time of day, and when you get through explain what the problem is. Ask for an urgent appointment or even a call-back from a GP. Failing that, could you go in and speak to someone in person?

Hope you get sorted :)

Thanks @BlackInk - if it is shingles, which it could be, do I need to worry about my 5 month old?

I'm going to call tomorrow morning and try and get a same day appointment. Failing that I'm not sure what to do.

I have this, but it's more in my lip, chin and mouth, mainly on the left side, although it does move about. It feels like pins and needles most of the time, sometimes more painful, like burning. I actually went to my dentist rather than doctor - it followed on from having a back tooth extracted which had given me loads of trouble over a few months - and she eventually referred me to the hospital where I had a load of tests, including an MRI scan. I was diagnosed with both atypical facial pain and burning mouth syndrome. I was offered medication to block the nerve activity, but would rather just manage it now I know what it is.

On the GP appointment front, I have been to the doctor once in the four years we've lived in our house, so I am not in the habit of trotting there all the time - it is infuriating. Eventually when I rang first thing I said that I had had a consultation with a pharmacist, who had said I needed to see a doctor. (It was just a sinus infection after a horrible cold, but the pharmacist said I really needed steroids and antibiotics.) The receptionist who had just said "no, sorry, phone again tomorrow" for the previous week or so suddenly found me an appointment the following afternoon. That might be worth a try?

Anyone who hasn't had chicken pox is at risk of catching it from someone who has shingles, so if that's what you have there is a chance your baby could catch it OP.

As far as I know, shingles is only contagious from direct contact with the rash. You don't have the rash yet (it can take over a week for it to show after burning sensation starts) so I don't think baby is at risk at the moment.

Don't panic too much about chicken pox. Many babies have some temporary immunity passed on from their mother, and it is often milder if they do catch it under 12 months.