Reoccurring Shingles

I was eating nuts each day and a square of dark chocolate..suddenly I got shingles too! Those two things have many good benefits but now I won’t eat them at all,have finally gotten better after 6 weeks. Still low energy and headaches...rebound headaches from daily ibuprofen and Tylenol I guess. You might have eczema or psoriasis...get those tests and find out a healing path now, God grant u wisdom my friend ??🛐

Heather,

When you say you have angioedema and rashes, and you ate nuts this last time, are you allergic to nuts? Have you been seen by an allergist for the angioedema and rashes?

What do the rashes look like? Do they look like wheals or hives and itch and go from one part of your body to another?

Angioedema is not part of shingles. It is part of an allergic cascade. I have had angioedema, urticaria, and anaphylaxis, and am a nurse practitioner. Shingles rashes dont "travel all over to different parts of the body," but urticaria rashes do.

Or is the pain a burning lancinating pain and the rash starts with clear vesicle-blisters that occur in waves or crops on a red base over a period of 5-7 days in one dermatome? Rarely, shingles can occur on 2-3 dermatomes, or on both sides of the body.

Where is/are the rashes, specifically?

I was getting recurrent shingles in my ear every 3-5 weeks for the past twenty-one years and twice in my right eye. I finally found out about the Lysine Arginine connection and stopped eating nuts and legumes.

Also, my Vitamin D level was 14, very low. Vitamin D is essential for immune function. I started Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily.

Both the dietary change and taking the D3 supplement has helped decrease the frequency of shingles.

BTW, I do have autoimmune diseases. but get your Vitamin D level checked, first.

I would probably not spend money on expensive testing unless you have many symptoms of autoimmune disease and there is a strong family history.

Best Wishes

Merry Juliana

First don’t eat nuts because it triggers it!  I thought shingles would just be one swing and that’s it,  I mean my mom and sister got shingles once that was the end!  I got it on my scalp in February 2018 and a few days ago I got a blister a small one and I heard that shingles on the scalp can take months before symptoms go way eventually but can take months!  I cry at night!  I will be 65 in July and I pray this can be over!  I would take vitamin C to help the immune system and keep away from nuts!

I don’t eat nuts and yet I got another mild bout!

Hope you do get better!

Hi Heather,

May I ask where you live?

The rash you posted definitely is a contact dermatitis rash, if it occurred directly after you picked mangoes. Did the area itch or burn? Is the rash resolving?

Do you eat mangoes and develop angioedema?

You could have cross-sensitivities with other foods to mangoes, and you could be allergic to the following foods and latex:

Avocado

Banana

Carrots

Cashews

Celery

Chestnut

Figs

Kiwi

Melon

Papaya

Peaches

Tomatoes.

I have become allergic to cherries, grapes, bananas, figs, mangoes, (sulfites, nitrates, nitrites-food preservatives that I don't use, but I am on guard when I dine out or invited in someone's home.) I get Anaphylaxis to grapes and sulfites. Angioedema to figs and mangoes. The list keeps growing as I get older.

You might keep an activity, food diary and your rashes-location, symptoms- itching, burning, angioedema, etc, shortness of breath.

If you have irritable bowel disease, that increases your risk of Herpes Zoster-Shingles, as you mentioned digestive issues.

As your symptoms of rashes and angioedema are increasing, I urge you to see an allergist immediately, as angioedema means you are having swelling near your trachea, and will soon have Anaphylaxis from these episodes.

BTW, I already explained how shingles presents.

Fungal infections start as mild red rashes, spread outward in a circular pattern, and do not resolve on their own. You can self-inoculate by scratching or rubbing the area. It clears in the center. eg. Ringworm. It is often mildly itchy. A fungal infection will not cause angioedema.

Scabies is an unbearably itchy rash, and even itchier at night, and has burrows where the mite burrows underneath the skin. What you posted is not scabies. It does not resolve on its own! It does not cause angioedema!

What best explains your symptoms is food allergy-ies. An allergist can do patch testing to determine what foods you are allergic to. As you have digestive issues, perhaps some of those issues might be related...

You may have had Shingles. I was not there to diagnose or treat you. However, shingles does follow a certain path, and so do angioedema and allergic rashes. Angioedema and allergic rashes get worse with each exposure to the offending antigen-food, poison ivy, mango, etc.

Also, certainly medications can cause the same problems. I spent two years before I figured out I was allergic to pravastatin, sulfites, mangoes, bananas, cherries, grapes, and figs. My allergist didn't figure it out. BTW, Doxepin is the best medication for severe itching, but daily use can cause weight gain. All antihistamines can cause weight gain. Benadryl and Atarax lose their effectiveness of taken daily. Doxepin is prescription, only, but you just need a low dose. It is sedating, so I took it at bedtime.

Heather, I hope this helps you.

Please let me know what you think and find out!

Best of luck!

Merry Juliana

I believe it is another bout of shingles by your description!  If it’s been going on for some years as you say and nuts does trigger it!  Eat healthy and a diet on lysine helps!

Myrna