Shoulder pain, Numbness in fingers...

[jesse898]

Hi,
A few days ago I woke up with a red spotted rash on my chest.  The rash is not itchy - just nice the most attractive thing.  I decided to give it time to go away, but I'm now experiencing pains on the left side of my chest, shoulder pain and at times, numbness in my fingers (usually just my left hand, but occasionally the right hand too).  
I'm currently in a part of Thailand with really basic medical centres.  Is this something I should seek immediate medical attention for?
Thank you in advance for your advise.
Jesse

[sk953]

I am 47 years old.  For the last 9 months I am getting numbness on my fingers of the hands while walking.  I thought this was due to carpal tunnel syndrome which I have for the past several years(due to carpal tunnel syndrome but numbness was occurring on hands at night while at sleep).  So I discarded this numbness.  But recently I read an article that this numbness may be a warning symptom heart attack.  Is this correct?  I have difficulty climbing and shortness of breath.  Three years back I had Raynaud's disease for few weeks which was healed without any treatment. At that time I took an ECG which was normal.  Blood pressure is normal. My father had heart attack at the age of 63 but died at the age of 84.  He was taking Isosorbide mononitrate regularly after the attack.  Should I take treatment for numbness?

[sk953]

I am 47 years old.  For the last 9 months I am getting numbness on my fingers of the hands while walking.  I thought this was due to carpal tunnel syndrome which I have for the past several years(due to carpal tunnel syndrome but numbness was occurring on hands at night while at sleep).  So I discarded this numbness.  But recently I read an article that this numbness may be a warning symptom heart attack.  Is this correct?  I have difficulty climbing and shortness of breath.  Three years back I had Raynaud's disease for few weeks which was healed without any treatment. At that time I took an ECG which was normal.  Blood pressure is normal. My father had heart attack at the age of 63 but died at the age of 84.  He was taking Isosorbide mononitrate regularly after the attack.  Should I take treatment for numbness?

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

The typical one sided rash and numbness can occur with Shingles, also known as Herpes Zoster or Zoster. It is a medical condition characterized by the development of painful blisters on the skin and numbness or odd sensations in the nerve involved. Zoster is caused by the 'Varicella Zoster Virus' which is also responsible for causing chickenpox. The virus can lie dormant and can get reactivated at intervals producing symptoms. Hence there is no permanent cure. But anti-viral medications like acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir are known to shorten out breaks and improve symptoms. Please consult your primary care physician for further evaluation.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.