Last week I woke up with quite an odd patch of bites. My initial thought and blame was put on my mattress at work. Bug bites or some disgusting bacteria left from a human who sleeps in the same quarters as I. Then I thought this may have been brought upon myself. I recently washed my bedding, I use at work, in the same extractor we use for our gear. Mistake. Possibly some chemical or other nastiness attached itself to my sheets and I unknowingly snuggled up with a this disease. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. I have shingles! What is this the 1920's? Am I eighty years old? Apparently the chicken pox virus I so fondly remember being mutated by has reared it ugly self again. The dormant virus that remains, similar to herpes simplex, can pop up unannounced. Poof its here and not really sure why. Its a lot different than chicken pox where this time around it attacks a specific nerve region to cause painful swelling, ache, and fever. Hence the large red area surrounding those beautiful blisters. It typically only occurs once and usually to people over 60 or those with weakened immune systems. Hmm.. The doctor actually was laughing at me for putting up with this for almost a week. He said with a smile, "You look quite comfortable for someone with shingles.", and then went on to tell about his late mothers bout with the virus towards the end of her life. Thanks Doc. I think I'll survive this time.
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