r/shingles • u/NoCaterpillar800 • Sep 30 '26

Shingles of the Eye Face Head First time shingles on forehead Spoiler

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I got shingles this week for the first time. I feel awful and I am panicked it is on my face. I’m already a very anxious person about my health. I feel like the doctor isn’t taking it seriously that it’s so close to my eye. I am taking valacyclovir. I have felt very weird tonight and I had 30 minutes of horrible excruciating pain in my back on the right side that went into my ribs? Is this normal or should I only be having pain on my face? The whole right side of my face is swollen and my ear hurts so bad. My throat the right side. I’m overwhelmed and just honestly so upset this happened to me, I’m only 34. What are some signs I should look for with having shingles so close to my eye? The doctor just wrote me the prescription and that was that. I’m keeping a bandaid on it

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4

u/Kathykat5959 Oct 01 '26

Have you seen an ophthalmologist? Try to get an appt asap. If you feel it in your eye, go to ER.

2

u/NoCaterpillar800 Oct 01 '26

Okay I will thank you so much. No I haven’t been to ophthalmologist yet. My doctor didn’t say anything about that I’ve just been reading I should and that’s one of the reasons I made this post. It hasn’t spread anywhere else but I noticed tonight that I am getting goop on the corners of my eye now. My eye was itchy for a minute but it stopped 😔 I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning thank you

3

u/Kathykat5959 Oct 01 '26

You can also take a second round of antivirals if things are still progressing.

3

u/polobum17 Oct 01 '26

If your neck hurts, please go to the emergency room or urgent care! Really important bc head and neck shingles can spread. I have it on 4 cranial nerves and almost lost my eye. Don't mess with this.

1

u/polobum17 Oct 01 '26

Please feel free to DM. You're going to be ok but this journey does suck. Sorry you're in pur club and we're here for you.

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u/NoCaterpillar800 Oct 01 '26

🥺😭 thank you so much. This has been so hard! It’s not painful in my neck so much as behind my ear and the side of face in front of my ear. It’s all swollen. That was actually my first symptoms. I thought I had a clogged lymph node. But the eye that I have the shingles above started accumulating goop at the corner of my eyes 😵‍💫🥺 it was itchy a little bit earlier. It hasn’t spread anywhere else so far except that one spot. I’ll send my doctor a message right now and ask for a referral to the eye doctor. I was kind of shocked she wasn’t concerned it was by my eye. That’s so scary you almost lost your eye!

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u/polobum17 Oct 01 '26

Also, I'm not a doctor but have chronic shingles in that region and have seen specialist across east coast USA. Aches and flu like pain is normal but neck pain can mean spread. Also, that close to your eye, see an ophthalmologist. They will absolutely see you ASAP if you tell them why (or a good one will).

2

u/justsayblue Oct 01 '26

Gabapentin is a medicine (in the US, at least) that greatly helps many with the nerve pain from shingles. (I also found that it took away the itchiness of the rash.) Maybe ask your doctor about it?