Prompt Health Care Needed
As I approached the retirement period of life, I observed that some retirees, after the retirement party and the gold watch, ended up in the obituary columns. This was not going to happen to me.
First, I adhered more closely to the balanced diet my wife, a registered dietitian, advocated. Second, I followed a physical fitness program. Third, I stayed mentally active. I have been in the life insurance business for more than 50 years. My work involves estate planning and I love it. So I decided not to retire but simply slow down.
Both my wife and I had been supremely happy - until last Christmas Eve.
It started with a strange tingling sensation on a portion of my skin. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The same area then began to itch. A rash appeared and then a blistery cold sore. Christmas fell on a weekend so I didn’t get to a doctor until Tuesday. Before I could explain all my symptoms, he said, “Gene, you have shingles.”
He gave me a prescription and urged me to fill it promptly. He explained that anyone who has ever had chicken pox could be a victim of shingles. The medical name of the acute virus is “herpes zoster.” Older people are more likely to get it, but younger people do too. The most common part of the body to be affected is the midsection and that’s how it got its name. Shingles is a Greek derivative meaning belt or girdle.
Shingles can strike other parts of the body and in my case it was above my left eye. Because I failed to get to the doctor promptly, the medication was only partially effective. The six weeks after the diagnosis was unbelievable. The itching grew so severe that I felt like using a fork to tear at my skin. My eyelid itched to the point I wanted to tear out my eyeball. The pain was so severe that I never slept a single night. Excruciating headaches lasted for weeks. Normal pain relief medications are useless because the nerve system is affected.
The sad part of this ordeal is that I could have eliminated the six weeks of torture simply by getting to a doctor immediately. Medications that treat shingles must be administered promptly. Unfortunately the early symptoms are so mild - and so little is known of shingles - that most people fail to get help in time.
I hope my experience helps educate others about shingles and the need for prompt medical attention. Then my suffering will not have been in vain.
MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.