Head swelling and shingles

[willboys2]

My husband woke up with slight swelling of the left side of his face from hairline to ear- had a small raised bump, about the circumference of a dime- on his forehead at the hairline- not red not itchy just a bump- went to the doctor and was diagnosed as having shingles.  Was given Acyclovir, the bump is now a redish brown crusty scabbed area, swelling has gone down on side of face, but his eyes water constantly, clear fluid, and he is now very swollen between his eyes and bridge of nose.  He has no stabbing pain, or itching at the scabbed area but is experiencing headaches- any suggestions? it just doesn't seem like shingles.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It is good that the doctor has started with antiviral drugs for shingles. There is evidence that treating shingles with antiviral agents can reduce the duration and occurrence of postherpetic neuralgia. Steroids and antiviral drugs can help prevent long-term pain after shingles(post herpetic neuralgia) if they are started within the first two days of the appearance of the rash.

I hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[willboys2]

Thank you for getting back to me- i forgot to mention he has seen his Doctor and is on 4000 mg acyclovir  a day-( since Wednesday today is Sunday and is to continue taking it for 10 days) the swelling has gotten worse- both eyes are swollen as is the bridge of his nose-he has a catlike or lion like appearance swollen and flat between the eyes- the area where the tear ducts are- is swollen his eyelashes get caught on the bridge of his nose-hsi eliptical folds are disappearing-he can see clearly- but is afraid the swelling will get so great it is blocking his frontal view- he has never had pain or itching- we are using cold compresses 15 minutes every hour but it does not seem to help- he has a slight headache and is taking over the counter ibuprofen - is there any way to reduce the swelling- wouldn't steroids make the matter worse as they are immunosuppressants?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it can be a shingles bump or boil. The first sign  of shingles 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. Consult a doctor for some pain killers and antiviral eye drops for your husband.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.