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Possible Shingles on incision

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  • Possible Shingles on incision

    So I'm up at 3 in the morning because I think I have shingles on my incision and on the left side. It started early today with what I though was a very rare (for me) case of back acne, right on my incision about five days ago. Now it's this horrible weeping rash that is painful and it extends about two inches to the left and three inches up the incision from the bottom and down past the distal end of the incision. It's pretty painful and I have a feeling I should see someone about it, but it's the weekend, so I have to decide if it warrants a trip to the ER or not.

    I think it might be shingles because for the last three days I've had a horrible, light sensitive headache. The area was so itchy that I accidentally scratched it bloody yesterday. I've been feeling so weak the last day or so that I slept most of the day and through the night until now, when the pain woke me up.

    It's actually really really gross (to use a technical term).

    I hate going to the ER, but I probably should, in case this is something else... I don't know. I'm torn.

    Sorry for the late-night musings on my really gross rash.
    "The plural of anecdote is not data" --Frank Kotsonis

    Ph.D. in Bone Biology
    Harrington rod and Leuke sublaminar wires 2/1986, fused T4 to T12.
    First revision 3/1987 fused pseudoarthrosis, placed CD instrumentation from T10-T12.
    CD instrumentation removal 10/97 following breakage.
    Leuke wire removal 4/99.
    Salvage surgery; Harrington removal 1/2000, fused to L2.
    Ruptured disc, fusion extension to L4 3/2016.
    Surgeons: David Bradford, Francois Denis, Mike Lagrone

  • #2
    Wow Allison, We are not supposed to have problems on the weekend....

    Did you go in?

    Ed
    49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
    Pre surgery curves T70,L70
    ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
    Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

    Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

    My x-rays
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Prfbones View Post
      So I'm up at 3 in the morning because I think I have shingles on my incision and on the left side. It started early today with what I though was a very rare (for me) case of back acne, right on my incision about five days ago. Now it's this horrible weeping rash that is painful and it extends about two inches to the left and three inches up the incision from the bottom and down past the distal end of the incision. It's pretty painful and I have a feeling I should see someone about it, but it's the weekend, so I have to decide if it warrants a trip to the ER or not.

      I think it might be shingles because for the last three days I've had a horrible, light sensitive headache. The area was so itchy that I accidentally scratched it bloody yesterday. I've been feeling so weak the last day or so that I slept most of the day and through the night until now, when the pain woke me up.

      It's actually really really gross (to use a technical term).

      I hate going to the ER, but I probably should, in case this is something else... I don't know. I'm torn.

      Sorry for the late-night musings on my really gross rash.
      Yikes! Can you call an advice nurse, or get a message to Dr. LaGrone?
      Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
      Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

      Comment


      • #4
        Best go have it checked. I hate the ER too but there is something to help. Let us know.
        T10-pelvis fusion 12/08
        C5,6,7 fusion 9/10
        T2--T10 fusion 2/11
        C 4-5 fusion 11/14
        Right scapulectomy 6/15
        Right pectoralis major muscle transfer to scapula
        To replace the action of Serratus Anterior muscle 3/16
        Broken neck 9/28/2018
        Emergency surgery posterior fusion C4- T3
        Repeated 11/2018 because rods pulled apart added T2 fusion
        Removal of partial right thoracic hardware 1/2020
        Removal and replacement of C4-T10 hardware with C7 and T 1
        Osteotomy

        Comment


        • #5
          Not shingles.

          So it wasn't shingles. There was some kind of painful cyst on my scar. It looked like it was getting infected so my husband put Neosporin on it. Little did I know that fully 10% of the population is allergic to Neosporin. So the worse the area got, the more he put the stuff on. The reason I thought it might be shingles is that if you put an antibiotic on shingles, it can cause the virus to explosively reproduce. I've used Neosporin all my life, so I didn't even think of a contact dermatitis.

          Even the area under the contact dermatitis was infected by the time I got into my dermatologist. It was a HUGE swath of my back. The painful cyst is still there now that everything has cleared up. It's an epidermal cyst, which can show up on any incision after surgery because epidermal components get transplanted into the dermis during the formation of the scar. They can get very painful, inflamed and pus-filled. They can also apparently look just like acne on a scar. They don't have to be painful like mine was. People get them a lot next to piercings. I think I had one on my little appendectomy scar oh so many years ago. I had to have it surgically resected. I still may have to have this one removed, but it's not a priority right now. We'll see in a month.

          Just one more potential complication for scoliosis surgery folks I guess. Sometimes, they seem to never end.
          Last edited by Prfbones; 08-25-2016, 06:03 AM.
          "The plural of anecdote is not data" --Frank Kotsonis

          Ph.D. in Bone Biology
          Harrington rod and Leuke sublaminar wires 2/1986, fused T4 to T12.
          First revision 3/1987 fused pseudoarthrosis, placed CD instrumentation from T10-T12.
          CD instrumentation removal 10/97 following breakage.
          Leuke wire removal 4/99.
          Salvage surgery; Harrington removal 1/2000, fused to L2.
          Ruptured disc, fusion extension to L4 3/2016.
          Surgeons: David Bradford, Francois Denis, Mike Lagrone

          Comment

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