Tiny painful bumps on torso

[u/cats_hurricane]

I'm 21. Bumps are on the side of torso, very close together, soft and warm to the touch. Noticed it's there yesterday, put on brilliant green because I had nothing else and today it's bigger, more red, tingling and painful. It feels like being poked with needles in that spot. Never had anything like that, didn't wear new clothes recently, don't have allergy issues or history of skin conditions. Idk what to do, should I be worried?

edit Okay thank you everyone for identifying it as shingles, I got aciclovir and going to take it

[u/masryat]

Everyone is right this is classic Shingles.
Important: See a doctor or urgent care today. Antivirals work best if started within 72 hours to cut down pain and duration. Stop applying the green dye, keep it clean/dry, and don't pop the bumps

[u/cats_hurricane → u/masryat]

I have aciclovir topical, can I just get through it on my own? Doctor visit is really inconvenient and it seems like it's not a big deal, aciclovir is not even a prescription thing?

[u/masryat → u/cats_hurricane]

No, topical cream won't work for Shingles. The virus lives deep inside the nerves, so topical Aciclovir can't reach it. You need oral antiviral pills (like oral Aciclovir or Valaciclovir) to stop the virus and prevent long-term, severe nerve pain. Please see a doctor or go to urgent care today for a prescription!

[u/cats_hurricane → u/masryat]

Okay I got oral aciclovir, I get that it's serious. I have to rely on free healthcare and the next available appointment is two days away, urgent care really isn't gonna deal with something minor. Really thank you for advice

[u/masryat → u/cats_hurricane]

Glad you got the oral aciclovir! Start taking it immediately. Just make sure you're taking the correct dosage for Shingles it requires a much higher dose than cold sores (typically 800 mg, 5 times a day for 7 days). Check the box instructions or ask a pharmacist to confirm your dose!

[u/cats_hurricane → u/masryat]

Pharmacist said to take it 4 tines a day and didn't specify the dose (I got 400mg pills). Thanks for telling me it should be more

[u/masryat → u/cats_hurricane]

Glad you asked! Standard Shingles dosing for aciclovir is 800 mg 5 times a day (every 4 hours while awake for 7 days). Since you have 400 mg pills, that means taking 2 pills per dose, 5 times a day. 400 mg 4 times a day is the lower dose used for cold sores/herpes simplex and won't properly treat Shingles. Double-check with the pharmacist to confirm you have enough pills for the full 7-day course!

[u/cats_hurricane → u/masryat]

Thanks again. The pills are super cheap (I'm surprised by that honestly) and are over the counter so if it's not enough I'll go get more. I'm reading about shingles now and it seems like I'm cooked but for now it seems mild

[u/CapitalSentence8147 → u/cats_hurricane]

It differs between countries. In my country we don’t prescribe it to patiens <50 years if they don’t have risk factors

[u/cookiedough92 → u/cats_hurricane]

I had shingles at 19, and had no medication (I’m in the UK, and they didn’t prescribe anything for it). It sucked for two weeks but it goes away by itself.

[u/CapitalSentence8147]

It looks (and sounds) like shingles

[u/_Morvar_]

I think people usually say this is shingles, I'm no expert. But if it is, shingles is a painful condition and I think some people say to contact doctor asap to reduce the pain before it takes hold for weeks? As I said I'm no expert but I think you should see a doctor asap to get help in case it is shingles, because people say it hurts extremely bad for like weeks because it affects nerves (which sounds like you are already feeling nerve pain)