shingles?

I think I have shingles, at the top of my legs by the groin but not one the groin, and around to my left buttock. I did sit on a public toilet seat with my left cheek the day before yesterday. I started a new med named Celexa. My question can you spread it by touching it.Can you catch it from any of the above things, how do I get rid of it. It feels like a burning and very tender to the touch like neralgia. Help Oh, there no no rash, yet.

[meg321]

Hi, i dont know much about shingles except that my neighbor had it for months and nothing they did worked.

Is it painful at all?  I would call the Dr right away..of course it is the weekend..

I am going to read up on shingles..

hang in there, meg

[LindaTX]

I don't know much about it either but I do know my mother had it while her immune system was compromised and it was extremely painful for her.  It is a return of the chicken pox virus, I believe.  There is now a vaccine for it for people over 60.  Hope you feel better soon!

[ireneo]

Just wondering what the doctor said. I'm fortunate my shingles doesn't actually hurt; the itching just feels like needles poking me over and over again.

What I've read is you can get shingles if you've had chicken pox. If you have shingles you can give chicken pox to those that haven't had it yet. But you can't give shingles to someone else. There's a chicken pox vaccine for children; there's an anti-viral shot you can get if you know you're getting shingles (in the first couple days); there is now a shingles shot you can get if you've had shingles - it works in about 50% of the cases to prevent or reduce the severity of another outbreak.

Today a friend told me that if you're rubbing the shingles blisters you can spread the rash further. I don't know since I haven't seen that mentioned on the medical websites.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Burning in the groin area can be due to superficial nerve compression. The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, that comes from the hip area and gets pinched. This condition is called meralgia paresthetica and is often due to weight gain or wearing tight clothes and belts. Losing some weight or wearing loose clothes and belts often helps relieve the pain/numbness/tingling. Also injection of lignocaine (anesthetic agent) at the site helps. In your case you can apply a pain reliever at the site.
It can also be due to dry skin, a local infection caught from toilet seat or dermatitis due to an allergic reaction. It is unlikely to be a STD.  Shingles is a possibility, but unlikely due to location and type of pain.
Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!