Shingles without pain?

teriwtt
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:09:21 +0000

So I had my semi-annual check-up with my dermatologist this afternoon (melanoma runs in my family) and asked him to take a look at what I thought were a bunch of spider bites on my outer upper thigh. I noticed them about a week and a half ago, after spending a long day working in the yard, on the ground, so I assumed they were bites of some kind. But they never really itched, which puzzled me.

I was totally taken aback today when he said he thought it was something herpetic, or shingles. I’d always heard horror stories about how painful shingles is, so it never occurred to me as a possibility. When I got home I (of course) did some googling, and sure enough the pictures I’m finding are pretty identical to what I have, down to what it looks like it the various stages.

He told me if it happens again, to call his office and request to see him (he books up months in advance and is next to impossible to see, but I’ve been seeing him for many years), that he’d do a culture. So I may get a definitive diagnosis at some point, but I’m still so surprised that it’s shingles… with no pain.