Shingles - too late now?

[NannyPear]

A week ago I developed a blotchy rash which started in the middle of my back and ran across my side to my stomach, in a strip of around 1 inch and felt a bit under the weather.

The rash was suggestive to me of shingles, so I got seen at the OOH GP as it was a Friday night and I am of the understanding that prompt treatment is recommended (phoned NHS 24 first). I saw a nurse practitioner who said it wasn't shingles, it was psoriasis.

It's now a week later and honestly if you Google "shingles rash" it looks exactly like my side looks right now.

I'm convinced it's been shingles all along and considering a trip to the GP, but realistically at this stage is there anything they would do other than potentially tell me it was actually shingles? I don't want to waste NHS time, but similarly the rash is still painful so would be happy to accept treatment if any would be available.

The exact same thing happened to me. I did end up seeing the GP and they said it was definitely shingles but the medication is only worth taking within five days of the first symptoms, ideally sooner. There is nothing else to be done beyond your normal at home treatments, eg, paracetamol. So the visit did end up being a waste.

But mine got better soon after that, hopefully yours will as well.

I would see your GP. Mine gave me anti viral medication and REALLY strong pain killers. I also bought a load of Zovirax myself and put it on the rash.
It was incredibly painful and took at least six weeks to go away.

Go to the GP and get some decent pain relief. They can maybe see if the previous person you saw needs some extra education so if it is shingles misdiagnosis doesn’t occur again. I’ve have it twice and it’s awful. Hope you get well soon

Thanks for the replies. A big part of me wants to go purely for verification of what's going on with my body, but more importantly some extra pain relief would be nice!

starstruck I did wonder that. I don't want to complain or get anyone into trouble but it's not ideal if she did misdiagnose, especially as in this particular case time is so important to treatment.

Go and see a GP so you know either way. I get reoccurring shingles (twice a year) and I saw 5 GP's before anyone committed to it being shingles

I know personally as a nurse I would want to know if I’d made a judgement error, your not doing it to get anyone in trouble it’s about continuous improvement in practice.

You can only change if you know you’ve done something wrong. Maybe your rash wasn’t too identifiable then, but maybe you should have been told something like come back in a day if it’s worse or some other pathway.

The rash doesn't look the same now as it did a week ago, so I completely appreciate that if the same nurse was to look at it again today she may have a different idea of what it is. I'll see if I can get an appointment today. If whatever it is becomes a recurrent thing I want to be sure how best to treat/manage it.