Treat shingles during the golden time when prodromal symptoms begin.

This is about the importance of early treatment for shingles and the treatment process. I heard that shingles occurs when the varicella-zoster virus, which resides in the body, descends along the nerve ganglia to the skin when immunity drops, causing inflammation to spread to the weakest areas. The lesion I had only heard about in stories has now appeared on me.

One evening in May last year, I suddenly felt itchy and noticed a rash-like bump on my shoulder. At first, I wondered if I had been bitten by an insect or if it was hives. It was only slightly itchy and tingling, so I wasn't sure what medication to apply. As I looked into it, I started to think it might be shingles. I also found information indicating that if it is shingles, antiviral treatment within 72 hours of the initial rash is much more effective. Since I had family members who had suffered from shingles, I was told I needed to seek treatment quickly. The next morning, I immediately visited a nearby dermatology clinic.

The doctor looked and confirmed it was shingles, asking if there was any pain, but on the first day, there was only slight itching and a burning sensation (actually, I have a cervical disc herniation, so I had some muscle pain and such). I received a three-day prescription including antiviral medication, underwent skin laser treatment, and came back.

Even after continuing laser treatment, the shingles skin bumps remained unchanged for about ten days. However, as time went on, pain started to radiate from the shoulder to the left side of the chest. A different kind of dull ache and burning pain began, unlike before. It was enough to make me realize why shingles are said to be very painful... Despite undergoing laser treatment every three days and taking painkillers, the pain persisted.

It was about three weeks ago that, fortunately thanks to prompt treatment, the shingles on my skin did not develop blisters and the skin lesions improved, and the pain also seemed to subside a bit. Just when I thought the treatment was going well, I suddenly experienced a splitting headache. It was so severe that I sweated like with a migraine, and my occipital area hurt a lot. When I went to the internal medicine clinic, they said that the shingles had affected the nerve ganglia in my neck rather than the shoulder or arm, which might have caused the headache. Thanks to that, I spent several more days taking painkillers, applying ointments, and trying everything that was said to help with headaches. I knew shingles was serious, but I never expected the neuralgia to last this long. Maybe I was able to treat it relatively mildly because I received prompt treatment. Shingles can recur easily, so after a year, I was told to get a preventive vaccine, and I plan to get it soon.