My nightmare with Shingles

Reconsider visiting the hospital if you have Shingles!

What a nightmare three weeks I have had. First, I had a penis infection, inflamed testicles (painful) and then Shingles (very painful). When my Shingles first appeared, I thought it was a slight allergic reaction caused by the antibiotics for treating my penis infection. I made an appointment to see my GP, and he said it is just an eczema flare-up. I disagreed with this because eczema usually feels itchy and dry, and I did not feel either of these.

The doctor prescribed me Eumovate Ointment, and it seemed to make my skin worse and very painful after a few days. One night I had a high temperature and the chills, and in the morning, I had diarrhea, my skin was also in a terrible condition. I decided to go to the hospital and had to go through a hundred and one questions from my sister, to get her to drive me to the hospital!

After waiting for about 3 hours, I finally saw a doctor. She checked me over; looking increasingly unsure and said, I have Dermatitis. I found that hard to believe, especially when I have Atopic Eczema. She also thought my mums washing powder was the main cause of this condition and if the problem doesn't resolve, I should see a dermatologist (very helpful). I said, my mum changed her washing powder a few months ago and it is still non-biological. She blatantly ignored my comment and prescribed me Bentovate Ointment, which is a stronger steroid than Eumovate Ointment is.

The next morning I woke up at 5am in the morning, applied Bentovate Ointment on the affected areas, and went back to bed. I then woke up at 9am and found both the whole of my inside legs were alarmingly infected and bleeding. The steroid cream seemed to rip my skin off and gave me the shock of my life! I decided to make an emergency appointment to see my local GP in the afternoon. He told me it was Shingles, and prescribed me tablets for the Shingles, antibiotics and painkillers.

The next day I was unwell and suffered diarrhea, slight sickness and excruciating pain. My life has involved sleeping in my bed and sitting on the toilet seat during the last four days, I could barely walk. I had a bath in the morning to loosen my pajama pants against my infection, to avoid ripping my skin and further bleeding.

After four days I have started to see signs of improvement, the infection has gone, and my skin is repairing itself. Vaseline has played a big at protecting, avoiding cracking of the skin and my skin should hopefully be back to normal within 3 weeks.

I feel disgusted that my GP and the doctor at the hospital failed to notice I had Shingles. How can I be told I have Dermatitis one minute and Shingles the next?! This is why doctors need to be more aware about skin conditions and allergies; it is not good enough. Anyway, at least I finally know what is wrong with me and can concentrate on getting better.

I would love to hear your feedback on the message board. What would you have done in my situation? Would you take action and make a complaint?

Discuss this topic on the Eczema Allergy Blog.

Click photo to view larger version:

These are pictures of my Shingles before the first time I made a appointment to see my GP.

These are pictures of my Shingles at the moment. The infection is starting dry out and my skin is starting to repair itself.