Can shingles keep recurring?

Question

I keep getting a very painful rash, always in the same place. My doctor says it's shingles but it keeps coming back. In the last year, I've had approximately 10 attacks. Can anyone advise me on how to avoid these attacks? I'm 24 and otherwise healthy.

Answer 1

unfortunately, shingles always occur when your immune system is at a low time. This could be a time when you are sick or a very stressed out time.

Once a person has chicken pox, the virus that causes chicken pox remains in our bodies in a dormant way, and therefore you are immune to getting chicken pox again.

However, people who have this dormant virus are at risk of getting shingles any time our immune systems are down or stressed out.

How to prevent shingles? Keep your immune system healthy. You can do that by doing the following:

Take a multivitamin daily & eat a diet rich in nutrients that feed the immune system such as fruits, veggies, and grains. Eating fish like salmon and other fish high in omega 3 fatty acids also help boost the immune system.

Notice the I don't recommend a whole handfull of vitamins. Just one multivitamin is enough.........taking more than that in vitamins can sometimes cause more harm than good. Your body knows what to do with nutrients from foods and is sometimes confused when you try to feed it extreme amounts of vitamins of various kinds in concentrated amounts. One multivitamin is enough in addition to a diet high in fruits in veggies.

Next, get some exercise. If you work out at a gym, that's great......but you can also get exercise by taking a walk everyday in your neighborhood. Just get out and move.......walking is a great form of exercise and as little as a 30 minute comfortable pace walk everyday can do wonders for your immune system. If you work out more than that, that's just that much more stronger you'll be muscle-wise AND immune-wise.......but a 30 minute walk everyday is enough to help keep shingles away.

Next, try to reduce your stress level. Being stressed out all the time releases a chemical in your body called "cortisol" and there is nothing that zaps your immune system faster than cortisol. Try to find ways to reduce your stress by doing a relaxing activity, laughing more, sitting in a quiet room, meditation, prayer, etc.........do whatever works for you, but find a way to reduce stress.

Once you build your immune system back up, I doubt you will have trouble with shingles again. If your immune system is very low, it may take 12-14 weeks before you can build it back up but once you build it back up, you'll be amazed at how well you feel. Not only will you stop getting shingles, but you will also feel better and have more energy.

Good luck and be well!

Answer 2

Recurring Shingles

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

3

Answer 5

You cannot do much to avoid shingles. It is not caught from contact with someone with shingles or with chickenpox.Anyone who has had chickenpox has the potential to develop shingles, because after recovery from chickenpox, the virus settles in the nerve roots.

Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the dormant virus in the nerves . As as a result shingles can unfortunately occur more than once. People with weakened immune systems who are at risk for developing shingles include people with HIV infection or AIDS, some patients with cancer (especially those receiving chemotherapy), transplant recipients, and people being treated with immunosuppressive drugs like corticosteroids.

You may have further attacks of shingles, especially at times when you are run down. These attacks may affect a different part of the body. If you have shingles you should stay away from other people until the blisters have dried (usually about seven days), as there are virus particles in the blister fluid. The risk is that people who have not had chickenpox might catch that from you.

Answer 6

yes, as others have said, it does come back...
my husband gets it as well...
he gets it when he is stressed... so if you are going thru any changes or school or a new job or anything, that may be playing a part in it.
the other thing he found is that too much sun will trigger a shingles outbreak for him-- we were on vacation in the caribbean & he forgot to put the SPF 50 on his forehead one day (he gets it on his forehead & near his eye- very dangerous)... boom! 2 days later he had little shingles blisters - not a sunburn, but shingles.
I would make sure that you keep the area you have had the outbreak of shingles in covered when you are outside, or put at least SPF 30 or higher on if you are going to be out for any long period of time.
Yes, take your vitamins, antioxidants...
There is a new vaccine that is out there, I don't know how many insurance cos are payinf for it yet, but being that you have had this many attacks, you might be one of those people who feels it's worth paying $100 or so to pay out of pocket & not suffer anymore. ask your doctor about it- it's new in the last 6 mos
good luck.

Answer 7

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So the PCP disappointed you because he actually used technology to find other suggestions for treatment, instead of acting like he knew all the answers off the top of his head? I'd rather have a doc look for answers than fly by the seat of his pants and make a mistake. Anyway- methadone was developed as a muscle relaxant, and the pain relieving qualities caught them by surprise. That was it's first application, before it was used to wean off opiod addicted patients. It's still a good pain reliever, come to that- especially when the standard narcotics aren't working. Yeah, it's got the reputation. But it shouldn't be a problem on the record, as it's being provided by prescription for a presumably already known diagnosis of recurrent shingles. There are immunosupressants and anti-virals out there you could try, I suppose. But working in a hospital, in the germ soup environment- I wouldn't think supressing your immune system would be an attractive option. If you don't like the suggestion, don't go with it. Google yourself other options. I think you might have better luck discriminating between the answers than depending on the answers of the questionable experts here at YA. And don't count the PCP out because he googled. I've seen plenty of mistakes made by doctors who were too cocky to admit they didn't know it all, and would much rather see one look up the information. The key is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where to find them.

Answer 8

Can Shingles Come Back

Answer 9

Shingles is caused by the re activation of the herpes zoster virus, the same virus that causes chicken pox. After initial exposure the virus remains dormant in certain nerve fibres. The virus can become active due to ageing, stress, suppression of the immune system or certain medications. If the rash affects the face be aware of dangers to your eyes.. this can be indicated even by sores on and around your nose, it can lead to glaucoma, cataracts, abrasion of the cornea or even retinal damage
The treatment of such an outbreak is a course of anti-viral and anti-inflammatory drugs.
There is follow up treatment for post herpetic neuralgia (pain in the area after the scabs have fallen away) and your GP would be able to advise you on this.
My advice is to examine your lifestyle for stress, dietary improvement and any current medications you may be taking (again consult the quack)
Best wishes, I hope you feel better.

Answer 10

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