All the cool kids are doing it. Shingles has become more and more common and amongst younger and younger people since the chicken pox vaccine came out.

You can rent one at the border.

NM

The last week before she died, we were talking. I asked her what had brought her the most suffering. She said, without any hesitation at all, the shingles![/quote]

Yes, and it's also the way the disease first presents itself.

I had pains in my jawline, and I was sure this one tooth needed a root canal. Took me three days to get to an endodontist. By then, my face was getting red on that side. I talked with the doctor, who couldn't find anything wrong with tooth in question, and I said see how it has affected the side of my face, which is now red-looking. He was surprised that that wasn't my natural coloring; guess he thought I had a raspberry birthmark. He looked me over again, said "hmmm," and asked if I had ever had shingles. I said no. He said he was pretty sure that was the problem.

My husband's doctor told us that this happens regularly. People show up at the ER, saying, I think I'm having a heart attack, I have this stabbing pain right here, etc. Until the visible signs show up, nobody knows what it is.

I actually had them when I was in my 30's. They hurt! A good pain reliever for Shingles is making a paste with baking soda and cold water and applying the paste to the shingles. The paste feels a little cool on application and is instantly soothing.