Grover's Disease tied to Shinglix Vaccine

Put ice packs on the are that itch and leave it there till the area becomes numb. I got my GD after the shingles shot as well. Awful.

ok here's a twist with GD and shingles: Ive had this crazy travelling itch that appears as a rash that has floated all over my body for about 10 years. ITCHING is beyond belief. Lasts for about 3 weeks, triancinalone not that helpful and develped suprainfections sincluding fungal and MRSA with some presentations. I just started following a dermatologist who has taken my intermittant itch/rash issue on. It comes and goes about 3 x year. started on my lower legs and also had some episodes on by upper deltoid area of my arm. Always unilateral , did I mention ITCHING??? In the meantime, my derm and I are waiting for this mysterious rash to appear so we can biopsy it. AND...I get Shingles , first time, right upper chest: obvious shingles( Im a nurse for 30+ years) the shingles isnt "too bad" but then a different rash appears where the shingles is, about 7 days after the shingles appeared and is winding down. ......ITCHY!!!!, could be , might be the same one that my new derm is trying to nail down. so the shingles is resolving, the new itching bumpy rash continues , so the biopsy is calling this Grovers Disease. Never had it present quite like that on my chest, always by extremites unilateral , often I get a really good case in the beginning of winter on my r or L lower leg after I start wearing socks. The latest outbreak as Got to be related to the shingles.
For treatment Ive learned this: I now take Allegra twice a day ( double dose) when this rash starts and the itching is far better controlled than ever before. Ive used sevral types of creams and lotions . feels like Castor oil has been the best. steroid cream and ointment( triancinalone) has not helped limit the itching or the length of the outbreak, I like Sarna cream, helps with itching. sometimes I have to use cool cloths and ice packs to calm the itch. Im currently trying to get ceramide rich cream all over my body 2-3 times a day. I was looking up shingles and GD and came across these postings with GD related to the vaccine. Im was encouraged to get the shingrix, but if it inflames my GD, that will not be optimal. I mean the shingles did suck but much more tolerable than a GD outbreak in my opinon. I have used a skin cleanse smoothie in the past that inclued a bunch of cilantro which didnt help me much. Im also seeing a naturpath related to this. I think we will do some heavy metal testing and chelation if needed. and Im defintely going to do a diet "reset" for 2 weeks: ( ie no diary, wheat, sugar, milk products etc etc) I have gut issues as well: IBS/SIBO. so in the world of holistic healing the skin is an extension of the gut , so my naturopath says "for sure related". And I think he is correct. I like using allopathic and natural medicine, especially for complicated chonic issues, many conditions cross systems and our current traditional medical system is general too compartmentalised to really help a human wholistically. Of course stress and emotional heath is a factor- always, and that is a personal journey that no one can really help you with except yourself.
Glad i found the page . good luck out there!

My GD irrupted 3 months after receiving the Shingles vaccine. Coincidence?

No coincidence. Thats how mine erupted, as well as others on this site.

There appears to be a variety of things that can trigger a GD reaction. There, apparently, is no one cause. Those interested should look at Bryan Lewis' posts on the facebook GD forum. I have not had the current shingles shot but I had the old one a long time ago. I have had GD since before 1992 when it was diagnosed by biopsy. I had shingles last summer followed by postherpetic neuralgia. Gabapentin gave me 13 years of relief from GD before it quit working. Took it again for the postherpetic neuralgia and it helped. Still itching from the GD although I think NB UVB light treatments helped a little and Eucerin Itch Relief along with Hydroxyzine at night helps too.

If you had a bout of shingles “that was not too bad,” you were lucky indeed. My bout put me in the hospital for a week on a morphine pump, followed by a year of post herpetic neuralgia. Please, folks, don’t discourage others from getting the shingles vaccine! Shingles can be a dreadful disease. Moreover, vaccines do not “cause” Grover’s, which is the result of a genetic changes in connections between skin cells. A bout of Grover’s rash and itching can be brought on by any type event that results in inflammation, but those events are not “causes.” Vaccines protect us from far worse diseases.

I contracted GD in 2008 after having received a flu shot with a flu vaccine which contained a mercury compound (Thimerosal) as a preservative. The GD lasted two years and has not recurred since. I have since studiously avoided all vaccines containing Thimerosal. The old shingles vaccine (Zostavax) is OK but apparently the new one (Shinglix) contains Thimerosal or some other agent which triggers GD.

You’re absolutely right. For the sake of clarity, shingles is caused by a virus, GD isn’t. So shingles can never cause GD, although it might trigger a GD rash, but not by definition. And the Shingles vaccine is very effective. And you don’t want real Shingles and GD.

I was recently diagnosed with GD , based on a biopsy. I'm female, don't exercise and have never had sweating issues my entire live. I actually never sweat unless I get into a sauna. I am ambivalent about this diagnosis especially after having read it mostly affects men and the references to sweating. Based on what I've read on this site today, new shingles vaccine, or the thimerosal in it, is a certain trigger for some. I'm due for a scan that requires an iodine contrast and will find out if that preservative is in it. My itching is not as severe YET as many have described but it's annoying and distracting enough as is and I don't want it to become worse. Some have mentioned light therapy but there are different kinds . I'd be grateful to know the exact one that has helped those who have mentioned it
Thank you.

There are different triggers for different people. Sometimes it comes and goes all by itself. That's the "transient" part. I've had the rash since 1992 (confirmed by biopsy) but it didn't itch until 2007 and it went on for 18 months until a derm prescribed Gabapentin (300 mg every night) and it went away immediately and stayed away for 13 years although I still had some rash. It came back in 2021 and I still have the itch. I had about 12 weeks of NB UVB (blue) last summer and I think it helped a little. I use Eucerin Itch Relief after every shower and take Hydroxyzine every night to get some sleep. I recommend also signing up for the Facebook forum for Grover's.