flyingiguana Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I think my 20 yr old daughter has shingles. How likely am I to be wrong? It looks like it and feels like it. Plus my husband (her dad) had shingles when he was in his 20's too. How common is this? Anything she can do besides ibuprofen and rest? And does she need to avoid people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Get to the doc and get a script for the herpes med they prescribe for shingles. And shingles can hit at any age. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Get to the doc and get a script for the herpes med they prescribe for shingles. Well, that's interesting. I had no idea there were drugs for it. We'll look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 The drug is more effective the sooner it is started. My 11 year old got shingles. I saw the rash and got her in to the doctor that day. She was better (no new blisters, all crusted over) in a week. You can't catch shingles, but you can catch chicken pox from the blisters. My DD's were on her hand where it would transmit easily, so she was basically quarantined for a week. People who have had chicken pox are fine, but people who have been vaccinated can get it (usually milder). We had an infant under one and a 2 year old, so she stayed upstairs away from them or with my mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Shingles at younger ages is a lot more common now because of the vaccine and reduced environmental exposure to keep up immunity. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 My 10 yo got shingles and she got the meds--- but it took me a week to see if she needed to go to the DR-- so it took longer to heal. Shingles rashes don't cross the spinal cord-- so it will be on one side of the body, but not both. It follows a nerve. What confused me about my daughter was she got it on her leg and the nerve starts on the lower back, goes through the butt, and down and around the leg-- it "seemed" to cross the spine, but really it didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Shingles at younger ages is a lot more common now because of the vaccine and reduced environmental exposure to keep up immunity. agreed! and older people get it more since the younger children don't get chicken pox as much and they don't get a boost from their grandchildren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Your dd needs to be seen by a doctor ASAP. Where on her body is the suspected shingles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 You can get shingles at any age, but it does tend to mean that the person is immunocompromised. I would look at diet, stress levels, and probably get a general checkup to see if there is anything problematic. That's not always the case, but it would prompt me to take a closer look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I got them around age 30. I was under unusually high stress at the time - several stressful things happening at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 very possible. before the vaccine came out, 2dd had shingles when she was 7. (one spot on her back, along her spine, and diagnosed by her ped. nothing since) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Take her to the doctor asap. I hope she feels better very soon! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Poor girl! I had them all up and down my right arm and hand when I was about 14. My mom never took me to the doctor, so I just wrapped it up and muddled through. Definitely get her the meds. Shingles is miserable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I went to the doctor within a day of noticing the rash (my doctor dad diagnosed it over the phone for me when I said I had a rash just on one side of my abdomen and I then went to see my doctor in person the next day). The meds worked very well--never had any pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Agreeing with others that getting her to a doctor would be best. I had shingles last summer and got a prescription within a day of getting a rash. I didn't want to go to the doctors as I thought it was nothing, but my mom persuaded me. I am glad she did as I had no idea it was shingles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmyopinion Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Yes, get her to the Dr's/ My husband has them in his eye and has had flare ups for 3 years B/c of the way it presented on his face, he thought it was his eczema or poison ivy, so he waited to go and by then it had already been too long for the meds to make a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I had shingles when I was 17. So, in my experience, it's totally possible. Get her to the doctor. If you've caught it early enough he can get her a prescription. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarasue7272 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I had it about 18 months ago. We didn't have insurance so my dr prescribed the cheaper drug that you have to take every four hours. I took the Rx and lysine every 4 and advil every 8. I only ever had one red spot that didn't blister, I really think the lysine helped. It hurt really bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 DD had the vaccination, then had chicken pox at age 6 (a very mild case), and then shingles at age 13 (also mild). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Our big question at this point: She's supposed to be starting a job working with incoming international students. They'll be from all over -- Norway, various African countries, etc. Is their resistance to chicken pox going to be any different than what one would expect from the US population? I'm thinking she should just stay home until the blisters are crusted over. Even though shingles supposedly isn't as contagious as chickenpox, there's still that chance and it would be a bummer for some new student to come down with it several weeks into the semester. Particularly a student that is far from home. But if chickenpox immunity is much higher outside the US, then maybe it isn't even a concern. And I've kind of forgotten how long it will be before the blisters are no longer oozing. How long should she tell her boss that she might be out? Her rash and blisters were already pretty well developed by the time the idea of shingles occurred to me, so she's inclined to skip the dr and just wait it out, seeing as the internet has told us that the medicine won't be very effective now. She's not terribly sick. Just kind of blah and her arm hurts quite a bit. Ibuprofen is helping a lot. She just wants to lay around, but maybe that's only because she hasn't had much time off since starting college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 And I've kind of forgotten how long it will be before the blisters are no longer oozing. How long should she tell her boss that she might be out? Her rash and blisters were already pretty well developed by the time the idea of shingles occurred to me, so she's inclined to skip the dr and just wait it out, seeing as the internet has told us that the medicine won't be very effective now. She's not terribly sick. Just kind of blah and her arm hurts quite a bit. Ibuprofen is helping a lot. She just wants to lay around, but maybe that's only because she hasn't had much time off since starting college. A few more days. Depending on where the blisters are, she could try dabbing honey on them. Seriously. The honey will be very soothing and help with healing. Put a little honey in a cup or small glass, dampen the end of a cotton swab, dip it in the honey, dab it on the blisters. I promise it helps. I had shingles on my face, and I *loved* the honey. If she feels like lying around, let her. She is sick, poor thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 If she feels like lying around, let her. She is sick, poor thing. I'm actually wondering if this is a good thing. It might give her the vacation she wanted. If she misses a few more days of work, she'll miss all the training and they may not want her for the job any more. I'm guessing there are liability issues -- that she has to complete all the training before she's allowed to work with the new students. She has another job that pays better, once she feels like doing something. So it's not a big loss except that the job she might lose looked like it might be interesting. But... one can't do everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 If it can't be totally covered up and she doesn't feel well, I would stay home. Would you take a sick little kid with chicken pox to the same job? Welcome to America! Here's a communicable disease to get you started... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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