Hernia or Shingles?

[mellen1967]

I'm a 42 y.o. male. I have a small rash, what I thought was hives, on my lower back, with the spots wrapping around to my front side along my waist on my left side. My skin is sensitive on that side too and my abdomen hurts, is crampy. I also have a bulge/lump in my left pelvic area.
Is it possible that this is shingles? My doctor says I have a hernia, but he only asked me some questions and poked at me a little. He ignored the rash.
My operation for the hernia is scheduled for next week, but I don't want to get cut open if it's not really a hernia.

[jagesh50]

My gut feeling,no I am absolutely certain about herpes zoster being the cause and the pain is of postherpetic neuralgia.I do not know about the presence of hernia but what I do know is that many a times this is mistaken for acute abdomen and operated too ie Zoster neuralgia.

[mellen1967]

Thanks. I'm going to get an appontment with my dermatologist.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms are highly suggestive of herpes zoster or shingles. Shingles is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles occurs in people who have had chickenpox and represents a reactivation of the dormant varicella-zoster virus. The first sign is usually a tingling feeling, itchiness, or stabbing pain on the skin. After a few days, a rash appears as a band or patch of raised dots on the side of the trunk or face. The rash develops into small, fluid-filled blisters which begin to dry out and crust over within several days. When the rash is at its peak, symptoms can range from mild itching to extreme and intense pain.

Treatment of shingles includes antiviral drugs, steroids, analgesics and anti viral eye drops.
I would suggest you to get an evaluation done from a dermatologist and get it ruled out.
Hope it helps.Take care and regards.

[mellen1967]

Thanks. I am hoping it's shingles b/c I don't want to get operated on for a hernia, esp if I don't have one. I just hope it's a swollen lymph node in my pelvis.

[jagesh50]

the fact is that herpes zoster has both sensory and motor componets.Sensory is the pain part and the motor,muscle weakness-the less recognized one.My gut feel is thet the muscle weakness has apparently lead to this transient herniation.Do keep me informed.

[jagesh50]

abdominal wall herniation and constipation following herpes zoster infection. ... Unilateral Abdominal Distention Follow Herpes Zoster Outbreak. ...scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&...Protrusão de parede abdominal secundária a herpes zoster ... wall herniation and constipation following herpes zoster infection. QJM: Monthly ...www.scielo.br/pdf/rsbmt/v40n2/a18v40n2.pdf.

[jagesh50]

Blistering barnacles!What more refrence we need!Postherpetic Paresis Mimicking an Abdominal Herniation
Andrea Giuliani 1, Gaspare Galati 1, Leoluca Parisi 2, Teresa Ricciardulli 1, Michelangelo Bartolo 2, Elvira Tartaglia 1, Miriam Grimaldi 3 and Guglielmo Pranteda 2 *

University of Rome ‘‘La Sapienza’’, 1 I School of Medicine, Department of Surgery ‘‘Pietro Valdoni’’, 2 Department of Neurology and ORL, Umberto I Polyclinic, and 3 II School of Medicine, Department of Skin and Sexually-transmitted Diseases and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, S. Andrea Hospital, Via di Grottarossa 1035, Rome, Italy. *E-mail: ***@****

[mellen1967]

The dermatologist says it's definitely shingles, a mild case. I'll cancel my surgery to see if the lump will go away on it's on. If not, it could really be a hernia.

[jagesh50]

Good.