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shingles that look like bug bites

Posted , 4 users are following.

jimboggs
jimboggs

Hi there

I think I have shingles, and i am booking in to see a doctor. I had deep rhomboid muscle pain in my upper back, and a tingly sensitive feeling around the skin in the area... when i massage the area I can pin point a really tight sore point, everywhere else is nor here nor there, but fast forward a week and I have 4 big mosquito looking bites that itch... with one what looks like a puss sac in the middle (so not your conventional sacs that seem to be clustered in pics on google)

What I guess my query is, 7 days on from the muscle tingle, here I am, if i take ibuprofen I am fine for 8 hrs and after it just feels like a tired muscle, how many weeks did you develop more and more rashes, I have had these 4 mosquito looking bites (1 on chest, 2 under arm pit, and one on the back shoulder) for a few days now... will i suddenly get a whole heap more after 2 weeks and so on?

Any replies are all appreciated. Thanks for listening smile

Jim

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • jimboggs
    jimboggs

    Posted

    Also... can people tell me, they say its the most excruciating pain ever, but I do see variations on here where some dont have pain, but most do... can you tell me, is it the muscular pain associated with it, or are you talking about the actual pain which seems to be directly at the rash site???? I have muscular pain, and I have no doubt mine is shingles, but the raised red dots which all look like giant bug bites are not painful
    • Ellie1943
      Ellie1943 jimboggs

      Posted

      Hi Jim. did you feel like you had the flu for a few days before the rash appeared? Shingles is a virus which is Varicella Zoster same as chickenpox. If you've had chickenpox as a child it could be shingles. If not it could be chickenpox. When I had shingles there was a small amount of rash on my shoulder/upper arm at first. A few days later it appeared on my wrist/hand on the same side. I'd felt really fluey and unwell with aches an pains all over for at least a week before the rash appeared. If it's shingles you need to get anti viral tablets from your doctor asap as they work best if taken within 72 hours of the first rash appearing. More rash can appear for up to about 4 weeks I think. Any pain after that is classed as PHN or post herpetic neuralgia. It's the nerves which are affected not the muscles but it probably feels like the aches/pain is all over to begin with. Hope you see a doctor soon to get a diagnosis and medication if neccessary. rolleyes

    • Ellie1943
      Ellie1943 jimboggs

      Posted

      PS, everyone seems to have it differently regarding pain but it's common, normal to have the tingly, pain on one side of the body only not both sides with shingles. Don't try to burst the blisters, just keep dry and clean until you've seen the doc.

    • jimboggs
      jimboggs Ellie1943

      Posted

      Hi polly

      No flu. But def tingling and soreness i carry a large laptop bag on my right shoulder which causes shoulder tiredness and thought it was that until i got these mosquito looking bite things. They are only the size of not even a pinky finger nail but do have a small puss center it seems plus they arent together in one place. Chest underarm and shoulder. Been a few days of that with no more spread or dots or patches. But yup everyones different and doc i go

    • Ellie1943
      Ellie1943 jimboggs

      Posted

      The spread of rash sounds about right Jim. Def go to Doc's soon as poss, it may help shorten the duration of the illness if you get some anti virals so see what he/she says. Also you need to rest as it helps recovery! rolleyes

    • jimboggs
      jimboggs Ellie1943

      Posted

      Thanks polly and will do

      What does confuse me, is they really do look like mosquito or bites, the 4 all have 1 individual puss sac in the middle, like a tiny dot and thats it, so its not like 4 or 5 per rash spot nor is the reddened areas at all spreading they just appeared as red areas the size of a dime in the different areas. But the doc will tell me anyhow

      Thanks so much for your response! its great to have support online for when we are needing some advice

    • Ellie1943
      Ellie1943 jimboggs

      Posted

      It seems everyone has different rash and pain symptoms with shingles, it has a mind of it's own! If you checked it out on this website you will have seen other posts on this forum. If not it's a good idea to look at them especially the ones from 'Merry Juliana'. She's a nurse in the US and also suffers from shingles on a regular basis. Her posts are very helpful and informative. It's the weekend so can't promise you'll get many replies before Monday but maybe!

  • Merry19451
    Merry19451 jimboggs

    Posted

    Hi Jim,

    Usually, shingles is preceded by symptoms such as headache, joint and muscle aches, fever, chills, sweating, malaise, weakness, and fatigue. Usually pain follows. Then a rash of tiny vesicles-blisters in a dermatome distribution follows in the same area as the rash. The pain is usually excruciating, or electric, lancinating, and can be itchy. The tiny vesicles-blisters appear clear, become filled with white fluid, then crust over in up to a 20-30 day period. The vesicles-blisters appear in crops over a five day period, no more. The vesicles-blisters are not similar in appearance or size. They do not look like mosquito bites. They are on a red base. The rash of Zoster-Shingles is limited to either one side of the body or the other, except in rare cases. It does not feel like a muscle ache or sore muscle. The pain is agonizing, unless you are very young. You also had to have had the disease chickenpox. Obviously, you need to see a physician ASAP to diagnose you. If you have shingles, you need to start an antiviral immediately. Otherwise, shingles takes longer to recover from, the pain is worse, and the probability of getting post herpetic neuralgia increases.

    Best Wishes

    Merry Juliana

    • jimboggs
      jimboggs Merry19451

      Posted

      Thank you so much juliana

      Def doc on monday... i should take a pic as the red patch on my chest is itchy and larger then the other random dots... also its strange cos my muscle pain is in the rhomboid and not the chest... would of thought the eruption would be in my shoulder area

      Ill post a pic soon just for reference

      Also itd be awesome if we doc day to day progress... is there threads on here for that... gives people a real idea of progress. I am.day 8 if its shingles... but its so difficult because thats when i felt the pain. Had this chest patch for a few days now so its not a mozzy bite

    • jimboggs
      jimboggs Merry19451

      Posted

      Hi everyone, this is an image, im really sorry my phone is not the best i thought id get a clearer picture, it doesnt look as red as when i look in the mirror, and the two dots are under my arm pit. As i said before, the pain from the shoulder/scapula feels deep, but the main rash is that front chest patch, i have put dots on there to see if it gets bigger, been like that for 3 days now... goes from periods of itching like mad to not but i think i tend to focus on it and it gets worse. There is no pain associated just itching with the chest patch, no pain on the other other dots also, only pain still feels in the shoulder muscle :S
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