Sty in my left eye, bumps on face by eye and a sore throat!

Yes, shingles do go away on their own. I never heard of giving antibiotics for shingles. It must be to prevent secondary infection. Since shingles is a virus, antibiotics can’t cure it.

I did a lot of reading up on it, looking for relief when I had it. In case you didn’t know…shingles is the same virus that causes chicken pox. Anyone who HAS HAD chicken pox still has the virus lying dormant in their body. You can’t get the pox again, but you CAN get shingles from that virus and you can get it again. It can be triggered by stress, low immunity, or other things. As an aside, my doctor had me checked over thoroughly to make sure I didn’t have any type of cancer that was lowering my immunity.

If you catch it early enough, an antiviral med can clear it up fast. I had it for six days before I realized what it was. I at first mistook it for a kidney stone, because I only had pain. There were no bumps or rash until the sixth day. By then, it really was too late for the antiviral. But I did take two rounds of it anyway, to no effect.

Just like chicken pox, while you have the rash, you are contagious. If anyone who has NOT had chicken pox comes into contact with your rash, they can get chicken pox from you. Nobody can catch the shingles, though. The virus will only manifest as chicken pox in those who have not had CP already. If they HAVE had CP, they won’t catch anything. They already have the virus in their body, but coming into contact with you will not affect them.

Hi Mosaics,
Thanks for the very valuable information! By the way, I was mistaken. The medication was an anti-viral medication not an antibiotic. It seems to be working fine. I'm feeling better and have no pain.

That's interesting about Chicken Pox. I did have that as a child. You mentioned that as long as I had the rash, it was contagious but the doctor said that it wasn't contagious. Maybe because my "rash" consists only of 3 blemishes on my forehead and one by my eye. I put Mupirocin on them every night and they are improving. My eye is pretty much back to normal.

I did read where Shingles can be triggered by stress. I have had a year of severe stress with my husband dying last July, Pension and Social Security didn't show up on time. I had to live literally on savings until they came in. Then I had to get a new refrigerator, fix the car, get a new garden hose system, fix the leak in the roof, and just this May I had to replace my entire heating and air conditioning system!

I'm glad to know that this does go away. Thank you again, for all of your information! I appreciate it!
PML

pml, I’m sorry for your loss. That does sound like a very stressful year! But you made it thru and your shingles are mild, so that’s great.

I, too, had had a very stressful period. Thank goodness the shingles was a delayed reaction and didn’t happen right in the middle of the stress!

What your doctor said about contagion was partially correct. Shingles are not contagious. But from all that I’ve read, the virus IS contagious to people who have not had chickenpox. E.g. if you have a grandchild, who has not yet had chicken pox, come visit you, that child could catch the virus from you and get chicken pox, just as if he/she could if they came into contact with someone who has chicken pox.

And since, for example, my husband has already had chicken pox, he was in no danger of catching anything from me, even if he happened to touch a lesion. But that also means the virus is in his body, so it could manifest as shingles at any time.

It’s been recommended to me to get the shingles vaccine, but I haven’t done it. Apparently, it is not guaranteed to prevent the shingles and it can cause worse problems. If you search for “shingles” on this site, you can read about people’s experience with that. Of course, a lot of people do get the vaccine and they are perfectly fine. I just prefer not to risk it.

Hi Mosaics,
Thank you for even more useful information! I appreciate it! I'm doing much better. The pills seem to be working and frankly, I feel quite good. So, I think I'm recovering.

I have heard of the shingles vaccine. However, I get no vaccines at all. I react too badly to them. I've never had the flu shot and never got the flu. Also I didn't get the Covid vaccine and remained healthy. I saw my primary care doctor last Jan. for a wellness exam and he said I am so healthy that I didn't need to see him again for a year. I've been very fortunate. I am incontinent which is enough to deal with and I eat very healthy and stay away from crowds.

Thanks again for all the information.
PML

I had shingles the the first time back in March. I thought I had an ear infection but then I got a rash like hives the small pimples. Pain in my teeth and gums, along my right jaw and face, and along the nape of my neck. Urgent care thought it was ear infection and hives also but I wasn't satisfied with their diagnosis. I went to the dermatologist who did a lab test and sure enough it was shingles. They saw no ear infection when I saw my primary. I had the necessary treatment, acyclovir and healed just fine. Now I have random small pimples that I'd never experienced before, for which I take the acyclovir at onset. I got the first shingles shot in April and due for the 2nd on October... We'll see how things go in the future. Good luck to you also!