Herpes virus, cold sores and shingles warning

I had shingles about 20 years ago. Then was vaccinated as per government age schedule. Two years ago I had shingles again and was worse. I had such pain in my face and neck I contacted GP. I was flummoxed when he said shingles. Absolutely no rash at all. The second time was horrendous by comparison to first and had to have high doses of painkillers. Worst pain I have experienced.

Hevs

Sorry to hear this. If it were shingles, prompt treatment is really important with a really high dose of antiviral eg Aciclovir so good you did go to the GP.

The Herpes Virus trust does a brilliant cream for cold sores - Lomaherpan. Totally natural and it really does help/work, especially if you use at the first sign of a problem. Hope you are better now.
herpes.org.uk/shop/lomaherpan-cream-for-genital-herpes/

Lomaherpan cream is successful to stop cold sores - and some people are using it to stop repeated shingles sores. (Repeated shingles is rare, but possible.)

I have HSV on both eyelids. I probably spread it touching a cold sore and rubbing my eyes. I spent 30 years on the wrong treatment ie amoxicillium and antibiotic eye ointment. One Easter Sunday I went to Bristol Eye hospital as GPs all closed. They did swabs and diagnosed Herpes HSV. Since getting acyclovir eye ointment I only get it once or twice in 2 years. Before with the wrong treatment it was 4+ times every year. Has never spread onto the actual eye yet. I'm now immune to amoxicillin though it has no effect as ive had so much. Get treatment at the first sign of it on your eyelid its urgent
Best wishes ❤️

Thank you Ayse for your information,very interesting,I hope it
clears up & you are OK soon.

Glad you were seen promptly. I had shingles years ago beside my eye which didnt cause me any serious issues. It was a Saturday and I went to minor injuries where they checked and I had medication to take home. Is this shingles medication now one that Pharmacists are permitted to dispense?

I've heard of this before , hopefully your meds will get it gone ASAP, and you will feel better soon.
My cat ( who's an indoor cat ) caught feline herpes from her mother at birth.
She has an outbreak every now and again and it goes to her eyes , she has it currently and has been prescribed Clorenphenical eye ointment .

Bad luck - that sounds horrible.

Thank you all for your comments. I’m taking oral Aciclovir and my eye fortunately seems ok.

I think this should be far more widely advertised that having treatment rapidly is essential. I’m just glad I have a GP who saw me the same day as they received the e-consult.

Please get this seen to urgently. I had shingles 13 years ago and it went into my eye. This resulted in scarring of my retina and years of drops in the eye and recurrance of the cloudiness in the eye.. I will never be able to see clearly from this eye and find bright lights particularly hard.

Goodness that sounds painful. I’ve never had chickenpox so in theory I shouldn’t get shingles 🤞 But I did start with eye herpes aged 11 I often wonder if I got this form instead of chickenpox.
It is incredibly painful, and caused blurred vision in my left eye. If you notice any difference in your vision, stabbing pains or a dislike of light don’t hesitate to get help. I’ve been attending A &E with mine for 50 years.
I only need to ask the Dr now for Acyclovir eye cream now and it usually does the trick. Hope you feel better soon.

At the first sign of shingles, people should get to their GP and get the anti-viral treatment. If this is not done as soon as symptoms appear, treatment may not work.

It is a truly horrible virus. My Mum got it in the head and was in terrible pain.

Cold sores are also linked to the herpes virus and are very contagious. If you touch your lip and then your eye , it’s very easy to transmit the virus . That’s why dentists often decline to treat you if you have a cold sore . It’s also very serious if it’s in the eye , people have gone blind . Sorry to worry you .

I read that it’s good to take L lysine if you have shingles as it helps with connective tissue. I was going to get some from Holland and Barrett but decided against it when I read that it can cause problems with Dupuytrans ( which I suffer from).

Hevs

Sorry to hear this. If it were shingles, prompt treatment is really important with a really high dose of antiviral eg Aciclovir so good you did go to the GP.

The Herpes Virus trust does a brilliant cream for cold sores - Lomaherpan. Totally natural and it really does help/work, especially if you use at the first sign of a problem. Hope you are better now.
herpes.org.uk/shop/lomaherpan-cream-for-genital-herpes/

It’s difficult to know if it’s shingles reoccurring or cold sore in a different place. I’m so glad my GP is on the ball. Thank you.

Sparklefizz

Sorry to hear that ayse.
Have you had Shingles in the past? I am recovering from Shingles myself which has affected my Trigeminal Nerve and my ear/hearing, and has left me with tinnitus and deafness in one ear.

It's a truly horrible condition and can be even worse for eyes. I hope you've caught it in time with the antivirals (side effect of those for me was a bad headache 24/7 which lifted once I stopped them).

Good luck with your recovery.

Yes, I’ve had shingles in the past but fortunately it was mild as it was caught early. I’m talking the antivirals now and I’ve had no reoccurrence of anymore eyelid problems. I think it is caught in time. It’s rather concerning that we aren’t told about these possible problems with shingles. I had no idea it was possible to loose sight or hearing from shingles.

I just wanted to let others know about the danger to eyesight with the shingles virus in the eye. I hope your tinnitus and hearing will improve. Thank you for your contribution 💐

You're right Indigo8, it doesn't. I had both doses of the Shingrix Shingles vaccine and 3 months after the 2nd dose I developed Shingles. It's not a live vaccine so the vax didn't cause Shingles.

I have had the Herpes Zoster vaccination but I gather it does not offer total immunity.

Sorry to hear this. If it were shingles, prompt treatment is really important with a really high dose of antiviral eg Aciclovir so good you did go to the GP.

The Herpes Virus trust does a brilliant cream for cold sores - Lomaherpan. Totally natural and it really does help/work, especially if you use at the first sign of a problem. Hope you are better now.
herpes.org.uk/shop/lomaherpan-cream-for-genital-herpes/

Thanks for the info.
I'd not come across this before.

Sorry to hear that ayse.
Have you had Shingles in the past? I am recovering from Shingles myself which has affected my Trigeminal Nerve and my ear/hearing, and has left me with tinnitus and deafness in one ear.

It's a truly horrible condition and can be even worse for eyes. I hope you've caught it in time with the antivirals (side effect of those for me was a bad headache 24/7 which lifted once I stopped them).

Good luck with your recovery.