So I Have Shingles

Yep, I have developed shingles. Apparently it's rather uncommon for an otherwise healthy young adult to acquire this post-chicken-pox disease that normally occurs in late adulthood. Hopeully this means I will continue to have a mild case. It can crop up from stress, of course. So here's what happened; I was at my acupunture visit and I was telling Bobbi that I had had a rough day two days before when a couple had to transfer to the hospital and ended up with a "Caesar" as they call them here. This is my first transfer experience as a doula. The following day I was part of four births, three of which were pretty dramatic. Later on in our visit I mentioned that I noticed a few "spider bites" on my abdomen about two days before. She pauses and says "really? Two days ago?" 

So the ensuing week turned my spider bites into full fledged shingles along the dermatome (nerve root) in the middle of my abdomen from midline to spine on my right side. Only last night did I wince and swear with every tiny movement. It's incredible shooting, sharp and numbing nerve pain. The natural course of it is 2-3 weeks, so I'm about halfway. I will hit an infectious stage here soon, but it's short lived and only causes chicken pox in someone who has never had it, even then it's direct contact contraction. Also there are no symptoms of malaise or fever, so really it's only this bizarre nerve pain. It can turn into chronic neuralgia in a few cases, but it's not likely, and once you get it it's very rare to get shingles even one more time. So I feel like my research of it has given me an assuredly positive prognosis actually.

The clinic is pretty quiet this week too, another holiday is in the making, so we'll see about next week. I plan to still sequester myself during my active phase of the shingles. Maybe another photography excursion to the rice paddies, or maybe to a quiet beach town. Seems to me like a great way to be going through something like this I suppose.