my symptons fit that more than shingles, but ive already chicken pox!\n\ni really hope not, my final exams start in three weeks :(
210892
I know someone who had it 3 times--and each time was pretty bad.  He is a very rare case though!  If you even THINK you may have it, stay away from people like infants and the elderly--you may be contagious and you do not want to give it to someone who has a compromised immune system!
10403
I strongly recommend talking to your doctor and getting a chest xray to rule out pneumonia.  Being as you had a cold which is primarily an upper respritory disease, if it suddenly relapsed into a stronger virus (and being as your immunities are already down) it could turn into any number of things quickly.  Also, bulk up on your vitamin C and zinc.  Both will help you feel better faster.  The primary thing, listen to your body.  Sounds like you are worn down from all of this and are in serious need of rest.  And dont forget the old standard of homemade chicken soup.  Not the canned stuff.  Homemade chicken soup has so many vitamins and nutrients in it that its not funny and its also a comfort food.  Hope you feel better soon.
496864
Chicken Pox (Varicella)\nA highly contagious and common viral infection that causes a rash. Chicken pox infections occur year-round, most often during winter and spring.\nWhat are the symptoms?\n\nThe incubation period—the time from exposure to the chicken pox virus until you develop symptoms—is usually 14 to 16 days but can be from 10 to 21 days. You or your child may feel sick and have a fever for 1 or 2 days before the chicken pox rash  develops. The most distinctive sign of infection is an itchy rash of red spots and blisters. Some children may have a worse rash and more symptoms than others.\n\nIt takes about 1 or 2 days for a chicken pox red spot (macule) to go through all of its stages, including blistering, bursting, drying, and crusting over. New red spots continue to develop every day for as long as 5 to 7 days. Symptoms usually last about 10 days.\n\nChildren usually can return to school or daycare when they stop developing new red spots.\n\nTeenagers, adults—especially pregnant women—and anyone with other conditions or illnesses should see a health professional.\n\nAs for shingles, you can only GET SHINGLES IF YOU HAVE HAD CHICKEN POX, the virus lays dormant, and may reactivate, when stressed, or some virus etc.\n\nShingles\nShingles is a disease caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have had chickenpox, the chickenpox virus remains inactive in your body in certain nerves. If the virus does become active again, usually later in life, it causes shingles. Shingle is very painful.\n\nMy husband is a insulin diabetic, and came down with chicken pox, from our daughter, with in a fortnight of her coming down with them. And was very ill. \n\nPlease if you believe your son has chicken pox please seek medical assistance immediately, especially as he has a disability.\n\nI seriously hope he has not got chicken pox, if he does your in for a rough ride. \n\nTake care and good luck.
526757
Scabies would usually come at point of contact. So, I would expect you to have it on the hands first. \n\nYou said you had some lymph nodes in the neck area. Are you also feeling tired? Constipated? any unusual hair loss? Since you had shingles, I'm guessing you're over 40.\n\nA shot in the dark answer could be Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Autoimmune thyroid disease. It can cause severely itching skin along with the other symptoms I named.
296417
All of the above, plus, if you care about your kids friends (and it's okay with their folks) junior should go play with them a few hours so they get it too.  Once you've had it once, it's very rare to get it again, and chicken pox as an adult is a nightmare.  My poor lovely wife got it, and we laughed and we laughed, but it was apparently very serious.\n\nAveeno/oatmeal/calamine all sound like good ideas for the poor thing...\n\ngood luck!
141434
The only way to avoid getting the chicken pox is to have had them or to get the vaccine. There is no immunity to it that you can naturally build up. \n\nIt is way worse to get the chicken pox as an adult. It can even be fatal. In adults a different strain of the chicken pox is also known as shingles, which is also extremely itchy / painful and just as dangerous. \n\nIf you want to get the Varicella vaccine, you can go to your local health clinic or doctors office and request it. It will be a series of 2 shots since you are over 12 yrs old. I beleive they are spaced 3 or 6 months apart. \n\nI hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless!!!
242159
This does not sound good.  Personally I have never had anything like it.  But i have Persian cats.  They are prone to having a Herpes virus in their eyes.  They both have had these blisters on their eyes.  If treated early on, they only need to be treated with antibiotic eye drops or salves.  If allowed to fester untreated, they require surgery and there is a risk of losing the eye!  So I would highly recommend you go to a doctor ASAP.\n\nMononucleosis is not related to the herpes virus.  Here is information on Herpes in the eyes in humans.\n\nOne of the viruses that cause herpetic eye disease is called the varicella-zoster virus. It is the same virus that causes chickenpox and the nervous system disease shingles. When this virus affects the eye, it is called herpes zoster ophthalmicus.\n\nI am by no means insinuating that you have herpes in your eyes.  I am suggesting that there are some horrible things that this could be and the best person to do something about it is a doctor.
512973
seriously a big matter, i feel this is a case of very severe food poisoning, please go see a doctor to get a jab, i remember the last time i had one of those, i was so sick i couldnt move. Hope you bring your partner there as soon as possible, Cheers
630262
Chickenpox is a common disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is part of the herpesvirus family. Although many people associate the word herpes with genital herpes, the herpesvirus family is made up of nearly 100 kinds of viruses, eight of which cause disease in humans. Examples of different herpesviruses are herpes simplex virus (which causes cold sores and genital herpes infections), Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis), and varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox and shingles). Varicella-zoster virus spreads in the air through coughs or sneezes or through contact with fluid from inside the chickenpox blisters. \n\nChickenpox, which occurs most often in the late winter and early spring, is very contagious - if exposed to an infected family member, about 80% to 90% of those in a household who haven't had chickenpox will get it. However, immunization of children with the chickenpox vaccine that's now available is expected to decrease cases of the disease dramatically over the next few years. \n\nAlthough it's more common in kids under the age of 15, anyone can get chickenpox. A person usually has only one episode of chickenpox in his or her lifetime. But the virus that causes chickenpox can lie dormant within the body and can cause a different type of skin eruption later in life called shingles, also referred to as herpes-zoster. \n\n\n\nSigns and Symptoms\nChickenpox is a viral infection that causes a red, itchy rash on the skin. The chickenpox rash usually appears first on the abdomen or back and face, and then spreads to almost everywhere else on the body, including the scalp, mouth, nose, ears, and genitals. \n\nThe rash begins as multiple small, red bumps that look like pimples or insect bites. They develop into thin-walled blisters filled with clear fluid, which then becomes cloudy. The blister wall breaks, leaving open sores, which finally crust over to become dry, brown scabs. One of the most characteristic features of the chickenpox rash is that all stages of the lesions can be present at the same time. \n\nChickenpox blisters are about a quarter to half an inch wide, have a reddish base, and appear in bouts over 2 to 4 days. Some children have only a few blisters, whereas others have several hundred. The rash may be more extensive or severe in kids who have skin disorders such as eczema.\n\nSome children have a fever, abdominal pain, or a vague sick feeling a day or 2 before the rash appears. These symptoms may last for a few days, and fever stays in the range of 100 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 to 38.8 degrees Celsius), although it may occasionally be higher. Younger children often have milder symptoms and fewer blisters than older children or adults.\n\nNormally, chickenpox is a mild illness, but certain groups of people are more likely to have a more severe illness that could lead to complications. These include infants, adolescents, adults, and people with weak immune systems from either illnesses or from medications such as long-term steroid use. The most common complication of severe chickenpox illness in these groups of people is a bacterial infection that can involve many sites of the body including the skin around the blisters, bones, lungs, joints, and the blood. Other serious complications are due to the virus itself infecting the organs and include viral pneumonia, bleeding problems, and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis).\n\nAnyone who has had chickenpox as a child is at risk for a complication later in life called shingles. After an infection, some of the varicella-zoster virus may remain inactive in nerve cells near the spinal cord. Many years later, the virus can reactivate and resurface as shingles. When it reactivates, it affects the nerve to the skin. Symptoms, such as a tingling feeling, itching, or pain followed by a rash with red bumps and blisters appear only in the area of the skin that the nerve goes to. \n\nContagiousness
283546
Wow, I thought I was just a freak!\nI have been hospitalized twice in the last two years because of it. It first showed up on my face until the swelling and itching got so bad across my eyes that I couldn't open my eyes and my entire head changed shape! I went to allergists and doctors and nothing would work.\nThe second one was much worse. I ended up in the ER and ICU for a whole week because it was in my digestive and respiratory systems. Nobody could figure it out and it scared me to death. I carry an epi-pen with me now but I am not convinced that it will actually do anything if I should begin to have another outbreak. \n\nI attribute it to my stress levels. So my answer is if traditional medicine can't help me then I will turn to alternative medicine. I do a lot of yoga and meditation. I work very hard to stay connected spiritually and I always use my vacation days. Traditional medicine kept me alive when I couldn't eat and breath but it had no preventative measures so I use my own. \nI hope this helps, good luck!
341935
I want you to get yourself - F.A.S.T. to a  Skin Specialist! Steroids are so,so, dangerous to take continually and it appears they are not working. I do not wish to alarm you, but I believe you have a  "strep" virus. This virus, if it invades your blood stream can/and has killed. My mother had the same symptoms as you have. Is it itchy? I bet it is. They treated my mother with steroids and prednisone - but this "virus" entered her blood stream and after 4-days in a coma, God took my mother HOME. Get a handle on this "rash" NOW. It could be the "flesh eating disease", which has been in our countries/hospitals for over 20-years. A test is simple - it is called a "culture and sensitivity" - swabs will be taken of the infection and cultured and allowed to grow for a minimum of 48-hr, then the Bacteriologist will test different antibiotics for the most effective. Get this TEST right away! and don't put this off. A prolonged use of steroids will effect your health in many Negative ways. Good Luck and take my advice.
315987
Zoster infection is actually not uncommon at any age.  It shows itself as "shingles" when it is triggered by any stress to the body, thought to activate the virus by temporarily weakening the immune system.  This is because shingles is actually an aggrevation of a pre-existing, dormant viral infection by stress.\nCommon stressors include any viral/bacterial infection (like a common cold), physical/emotional stress, sleep deprivation, the list goes on and on...\nSummary - Its possible that stopping your effexor suddenly (which is a BAD move btw - you should always wean off gradually) put a stress on your body that simply acted as the trigger to activate your pre-exisisting Herpes Zoster infection into a full-blown bout of shingles.  However your trigger may have been completely unrelated to the effexor...\n\nI'm assuming you saw your doctor allready?\n\nDoes this help?  For more info try this link http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1007.htm
176693
Herpes is a virus.  Your body's immune system, when at it's peak, will battle the virus, and keep the outbreak of a lesion at bay. \n\nHowever, when your immune system is over-worked it's ability to fight all the bacteria, parasites, and fungi that it is exposed to, is reduced.  Hence, the outbreak.  \n\nThink of it like a see-saw or scale.  When your immune system is functioning optimally, the scales are balanced. And, your immune system is keeping all attackers under control.  Throw a virus into the mix ... now the immune system has to battle all the same attackers, plus the virus.  In most instances, the immune system will maintain the balance.  But, when you 'catch' something else, like a cold, or are exposed to other people with the flu, your immune system becomes challenged, and the scales tip. \n\nVirus' are more persistent, and tougher for the immune system to erradicate than bacteria.  So, at times of immuno-challenges, the virus will win out, thereby producing the lesion. \n\nIf you had chicken pox as a child, then you were first introduced to Herpes then.  The virus has been laying dormant all these years in your body. Some change has occurred in your life, recently, that is putting additional strain on your immune system, and alas, Herpes reared its ugly head.\n\nBeing a college student, you are exposed to people from all over, with a whole host of immuno histories of their own.  Chances are pretty good that, as a student, you're probably not getting sufficient, quality sleep.  Are maybe not eating as well as you should, and are maybe consuming more alcohol (which is a signifant challenge to the immune system).  \n\nSo, before you jump all over your partner for cheating, explore your life 'style'.  Assess your diet, sleep and exercise patterns.  Remember that adage ... 'garbage in - garbage out'.
269392
I would say Chicken Pox. Is the rash itchy?
333647
I'm sorry to hear about your symptoms. Unfortunately, symptoms like burning and hypersensitivity can last for a long time, way beyond the infective period. This is due to damage of the nerves that the Varicella Zoster virus has caused.\n\nThis type of pain is called Neuropathic pain. It is quite difficult to treat, and does not usually respond to usual pain killers. Medications like Gabapentin, Pregabalin or Amitriptyline can be helpful to reduce Neuropathic pain.\n\nI hope you get rid of it soon!
346456
I too suffer from anxiety and was panicked and shaking when I took my drivers test. I failed because of it. Although I was still terrified the second time, I passed. I hope you don't have to do it twice. \n\nYou could try St. John's Wart.
85091
depending on how long she's had them for, she's probably past the contagious period - which is typically when they start to crust over.  Otherwise, tell her you will check in with her next week when she is no longer  contagious because you don't want to get sick - there's nothing wrong with saying that...\n\nby the way - a person is contagious two days before the pox appear- so you've probably already been exposed... takes about a week or two for it to show up after you've been exposed.