I have had fatigue, chills, cough, aches and pains for 5 weeks. Last night I developed a rash.

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My doctor diagnosed me with bronchitis 2 weeks ago and told me to continue the daily use of my neti pot and Nasonex spray. This past week I was extra sore and stiff and very itchy. I also noticed a tender area on the left side of my head above the eye. It was only tender when touched. My left eye felt achy and watery also. Last night I developed an itchy red rash on my wrists and under my right arm. I took Benadryl and used ice on the itchy areas and eventually slept. In the morning the rash was gone. I am still itchy and still have tenderness around one eye. I went back to my doctor and she said it is not shingles. Is it possible to have a rash that disappears and still have shingles? I am 63 years old. I also have nerve blocks every 2 weeks for chronic migraine.

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  • Posted

    Hi Hil!

    Once the shingles rash appears, it doesn't disappear quickly. It takes a few weeks for the vesicles-blisters to appear, then scab over and resolve. Usually, the individual experiences continuous burning, and often lancinating, excruciating pain at the rash site. The rash and pain is distributed according to the body's dermatomes. Most people, unless they are young, would not have just itching.

    Benadryl does not help a shingles rash.

    I am a Nurse Practitioner and have had Shingles every three weeks in my right ear and now scalp for the past 22 years.

    Perhaps, the rash was caused by a medication you are taking.

  • Posted

    Well, I did have what I believe was a flare-up of shingles, following a flu jab, where briefly I had a single blister that looked like a pimple, but accompanied by the familiar itching and chest pain. It all disappeared the following day. without turning into proper shingles again. However, the fact that you had a rash in 3 very different parts of your body, rather than something that appears to be connected to a specific nerve, or couple of nerves, in the spine, would indicate, I would say, the type of dermatitis that appears in a different part of the body to the exposure. I used to deal with people in my job who had occupational diseases, and I saw something like this several times., with, for example, exposure to oils and coolants at work. A rash on the wrists would seem far more typical of this than of shingles. Maybe you had an allergic reaction to something? Even if not, it still doesn't sound typical of a shingles rash to me.

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