Do you need a leaky roof repaired? Well then, I’m your guy!

I’ve been suffering with pains in my side for a couple of weeks now. The pain is sharp at times, feeling like it is going all the way through. The skin in the entire area is tender to the touch. In essence, it feels like a burn and a bruise all rolled up into one. Many folks around me told me that I probably had issues with my gall bladder. I finally caved in and went to the doctor.

The doctor told me I have shingles. Until now, I had no idea what shingles were, other than being roofing material installed in an overlapping manner. Medically speaking, I ranked shingles up there with the piles. I didn’t quite know what it was, but it sounded unpleasant, embarrassing and like something I didn’t want. But now I know a lot about shingles. Shingles is a nerve infection caused by the chicken pox virus, characterized by painful blisters on the skin. (Piles, by the way, are hemorrhoids, perhaps a topic for another post someday.) I’ve learned that you can only catch shingles if you have already had chicken pox. The chicken pox virus is with you permanently, waiting for your immune system to weaken and allow it to come back out as shingles. You cannot pass shingles along to someone else, however, you can give chicken pox to someone who hasn’t already had them. I have to stay away from pregnant women and young children. (There goes my social life!)

I’ve heard horror stories about shingles. How raw and painful they can get and how long they take to heal. One co-worker told me that a bed sheet, or a breeze coming in the window felt like fresh road-rash with iodine poured on. Oh shit… what am I in for? So far, fingers crossed, the pain is there, but not unbearable. Kind of like the ticking of a clock, you know? If you think about it, it will drive you nuts with its constant presence. If you can take your mind off of it, it’s there, but you don’t really notice it.

I was kidding about the leaky roof. I’m really not the guy to do that. You will at least have to supply your own shingles.