Shingles is definately part of the big picture of MS. Like I said, Mr. Herpes....again.

I never had a cold sore either. Isn't that genital herpes?

I'm not sure about the genital type Sal. I was talking about the ones people get on their lips, but I have a feeling they're caused by the same strain of the evirus

Herpes simplex is divided into two types: HSV type 1 and HSV type 2. HSV1 primarily causes mouth, throat, face, eye, and central nervous system infections, while HSV2 primarily causes anogenital infections. However, each may cause infections in all areas.

Oral herpes, the visible symptoms of which are called cold sores or fever blisters, infects the face and mouth. Oral herpes is the most common form of infection.

Genital herpes, known simply as herpes, is the second most common form of herpes. Other disorders such as herpetic whitlow, herpes gladiatorum, ocular herpes (keratitis), cerebral herpes infection encephalitis, Mollaret's meningitis, neonatal herpes, and possibly Bell's palsy are all caused by herpes simplex viruses.

I had Bells Palsy about 3 or 4 yrs ago. So add that to my list. Soon they will discover a direct herpes/MS link, too!

Me too! Mine was a complication of the shingles which was on my face, affecting 2 branches of the Trigeminal nerve.

I didn't really mind the blisters and the ensuing scabs, I even managed the pain, but I was horrified when one side of my face decided to droop and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

I was struggling through a particularly bad exacerbation at the time, and just as the Neuro was talking about starting cortisone to help ease the relapse symptoms, the blisters erupted.

There was no way he'd order the Prednisolone then. He said it was far too dangerous as there was a possibility of the virus spreading to other areas in my body, maybe even affecting my brain, if he added cortisone to the picture.

Yup! Glandular Fever (Australian for Mono) fairly bad when I was thirteen. MONSTER dose of Chicken Pox at 27, lots of weird stuff in between Dx RRMS at 30 (after a huge trauma and cold sore breakout), Maybe it is the combination of the two that sets it off. I have always wondered.

Lyn

I had a shingles breakout several years before my ms dx. It was during a time a great stress for me.