Do I really have shingles?

If you have pain that feels like nerve pain with no visible symptoms, especially if the pain is on just one side of the body, and on your midsection, back, chest, upper arms, neck, or face, you should suspect shingles and take action immediately.  Typically, shingles pain manifests from one to three days before any redness, rash, or blistering appears.  Knowing to suspect shingles when diffuse nerve pain appears on one side of the body may help you catch the outbreak early enough to receive the full benefit of both The Shingles Solution™ and oral antiviral medication prescribed by your doctor.

Why am I in such terrible pain?

Many people say that their shingles pain is the worst pain they have ever experienced. It is true that sometimes very young people have mild shingles, but over a million Americans per year see a doctor for pain medicine strong enough to get them through weeks of severe pain. The intensity of the pain is due to the fact that infection with the varicella zoster virus is not a typical skin or soft tissue infection, but an infection of the nerves, which of course are the structures that transmit pain signals.

If you have shingles, the virus, which has lain dormant in your deep spinal nerves since you were first infected with chicken pox, has now reawakened and traveled down the nerves to your skin. The location of your pain indicates which of your spinal nerves is infected.

How Your Pain Can Cause Nerve Damage

The severe pain that you experience with your shingles is not just a symptom; it is a part of the problem. The spinal nerves where pain is processed are not programmed to deal with such prolonged, intense pain. In many cases, such pain over-stimulates the signal processing system, and causes it to “reset” the pain processing at a new level. At the reset levels, the nerves then read even non-painful stimulus such as a passing breeze or the touch of clothing as severe pain. This condition is called post-herpetic neuralgia, or PHN, and it may last for years. PHN pain is very difficult to relieve, even with strong narcotics. So many people become chronically depressed or suicidal due to the intractable pain that counseling is recommended for all people with PHN.

Statistically, 20% of all shingles patients develop PHN; however, this figure is misleading. It takes into account even the very young and strong, who usually have mild shingles and are quite unlikely to develop PHN. If you are over 60, if you have intense shingles pain, if you have diabetes, if you have had a previous case of shingles that resulted in scarring, or if you are a woman, your risk of developing PHN may be much higher.

By applying TheShingles Solution™early, you may be able
to lower your risk of developing long-term pain.