Eye scan, dizziness, shingles

This discussion is related to Dizziness preceding Shingles.


I. age 64, had exam for upcoming cataract surgery.  I had to have back of the eye scan, which involved looking into a bright light for a period of time.  The next morning, I was quite dizzy, but within an hour it seems OK.  Then for the next week or so, I would have these feelings of dizziness or light headedness, when getting up from lying down.  Two weeks after this scan, I came down with shingles around the eye and on right side of head.  I had pain in front of my ear and the gland under my ear.  The fourth day noticing beginning rash, I was prescribed Famciclovir 500 mg for 7 days and am using Polymyxin-B Trimethoprimophth Soln for 5 days. My question is - IS THERE A POSSIBLITY THE LIGHT FROM THE EYE SCAN COULD HAVE ENABLED THIS VIRUS TO SURFACE?  Also, is there a problem associated with this for the cataract surgery.  

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Bright light as a trigger for shingles is not documented much. Also there is no evidence based information about this.

But emotional stress is known to trigger reactivation of the virus. The ophthalmologist might wait for the active symptoms get over before he declares you fit for surgery.

Regards