HERPES on the back?

[NotAnOtter]

After suffering an intense period of immense stress i developed a patch the size of a ten pence piece on the top of my bum - bottom of back. it was extremely itchy and within a few days blistered into a discreet patch of clear blisters. i popped them (dp did with a knife) and the patch then emerged an inch away from original one but the exact same.
This blistered and we tried popping it but they seemed to re form

googled it and went to gp
she said herpes

I have never had a cold sore nor genital herpes so why this?

I asked if it was Shingles ( Herpes Zostis???) she said NO it looks like simplex

I dont buy this - am I wrong?????

Could well be herpes you can be infected for any amount of time before you actually have an outbreak, some people carry the virus but never have any visible blisters.

sorry forgot to add huge inguinal glands that hurt

definately sounds like herpes simplex to me, I had this on my foot, it was farking painful. Around the time i had a similar outbreak to where you had yours. My doc looked at my bum and said, oh, you have shingles (and signed me off work for two weeks - woohoo!) and then he looked at my foot, he was surprised but said, nup, thats herpes simplex. so i had both!! I think shingles (herpes zoster) is related to chicken pox.

Cold sores are herpes simplex. The chances are you picked up the herpes virus as some point,, not genital herpes, the cold sore one and your immune system has kept it surpressed. Once we have the virus it stays with us and usually infects a local nerve. It then manifests itself when we are run down. Your lymph glands were up because your body is trying to fight off the virus, and it will. It will go. I think you can put zovoirax or however you spell it, the generic is aciclovir and its much cheaper if you buy tescos own. Im sure thats what i did. I do suffer from cold sores but nothing quite so painful as what was on my foot. My DP gets some really nasty ones. Neitehr of us have had genital herpes though. Dont think that this is genital herpes, just a virus in the same family. My doctor said, i could theoretically have systemic antivirals but suggested rest as these can make you feel shitter than the shingles lol

Stop bursting the blisters it will spread!

i did wonder that about the blisters

Agree sounds like herpes - I know that when DD3 had her primary herpes infection in the mouth huge glands were a major symptom (and common according to GP).

I think Zovirax/acyclovir is a general anti-viral so even if it is not herpes it should still help as the blisters sound charactersitically viral.

Any stop popping them you will spread virus everywhere

what is shingles then if this is not it?

NotAnOtter, that actually sounds like the attack of shingles ds1 got aged 5. Especially the clear blisters.

Pictures of shingles

thanks spinspinsugar and the more i read the more i think you may be right....not wanting to question my gp but the internet sems to suggest herpes simplex lips/genitals

herpes zoster back...

Starlight, my doc said that he could prescribe systemic anti virals but i didnt really have a bad case of my herpes zoster/herpes simplex so he said, lets just see if it gets worse/goes. It went on its own. So, it was a case of not wanting to over prescribe unnecessary medication so good practice i think.

Am i missing something here? Is it because of the fact that herpes simplex is in a family of viruses that cause genital herpes that the OP has a problem with the diagnosis?? I mean, does it matter? The treatment is the same (i would assume). Me personally, id rather have herpes simplex in an isolated area rather than a full blown attack of shingles.

OP, honestly, dont worry too much, as long as you are receiving appropriate treatment and getting plenty of rest you should be fine. Im not a doctor (well not a useful one - lol) im only reporting my experience. Remember the body is a funny thing, i had mine on my foot!!!!

What is really important to remember here though is this, when we have a cold sore we should refrain from kissing babies (i found this really hard when i had one when dd was a babe as it is kind of second nature). I have seen some really upsetting pictures where the virus spread to the childs eyes as their immune system coudlnt fight it off - unpleasant.

what you have to remember is that the internet is often not peer reviewed and you can't believe everything you read. I tend to steer away from it personally, read much more and you will convince yourself you have the plague . The reason it suggests lips (both ends, sorry coudlnt resist!) is because that is where it usually manifests itself. So, we are unusual, thats good isnt it?

You are not alone. coincidentally, a friend has just had exactly the same this week. Also very painful. Doctor confimed it was herpes.
I also thought it sounded bizarre at first because I had never heard of it appearing on a back.

gosh priness good life that is a coincidence

lucyellensmum - not sure why you understood me to have a problem with herpes dx...

i just think it odd that shingles is often on back and wondered what the distinctiion between herpes simplex and zoster was....

re jigged this as the damn blister patch is coming back again
slightly diff place - 2 cms away from earlier 2

depressing