I May Have Shingles ....not Sure. I Ve Been Taking

Posted on Mon, 2 Sep 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 2 Sep 2019 Answered on

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Question : I may have Shingles....not sure. I've been taking Naprosin for a few days (since 8/22) and shortly after starting it, I started breaking out in a couple of places on my arm and leg. It doesn't appear to be a rash, because there are little water blisters that have formed. They're very itchy but only slightly painful. I need to know what this "rash" is and how to treat it.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (16 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Antivirals, meds for itching and pain, shingles vaccine

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

Based on your description, it is possible that the lesions are related to shingles.

Shingles is normally associated with pain but the amount of pain that occurs varies from one person to the next.

In some persons,the pain occurs after the rash/lesions have resolved- this is called post herpetic neuralgia.

The lesions resolve in 7 to 10 days typically. Antiviral medications eg acyclovir or valacyclovir etc, can be used to shorten the course of the infection.
Pain can be treated with use of over the counter pain medication such as cataflam, ibuprofen or naproxen etc

Itching can be treated with the use of an oral antihistamine such as benadryl, zyrtec, claritine, allegra etc

There is a shingles vaccine that can be given to reduce recurrence

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar