My son Ben was diagnosed with Lyme in June within 24 hours of us removing the tick. He had the bullseye rash at first and ended up with facial paralysis which lasted 8 weeks. He was treated with 3 weeks of antibiotics and 5 days of prednisone.
Now he's experiencing headaches and facial pain with redness on the same side as the tick bite and facial paralysis. His pediatrician thinks maybe a shingles outbreak, though there's no rash yet...just redness and pain on the cheek...we're in 'wait and see' mode. He has swollen lymph nodes in the neck which are sore but no fever.
So, my question is this...they say that the lyme is bacterial and the shingles is viral but could the shingles be a result of the compromised facial nerves during the lyme infection? It seems too coincidental to me not to be related. This is a 100% healthy active kid otherwise.
Thanks for any ideas!!