It's so weird! Katherine told me that her back was sore, so I took a look, and talk about a perfect textbook physical finding!
She has a "beautiful" rash in a dermatomal distribution at her waistband that stops at the midline - erythematous with fluid-filled blisters - around the T10 or T11 dermatome. It's classic.
So, after getting over my excitement of making a diagnosis from a physical finding, I began to freak out.
"Do we need to go to the emergency room and get you started on antivirals asap? The sooner you get started on them, the less likely you'll have post-herpetic neuralgia!"
And then, I started thinking... hmmm... the majority of people who get shingles are older people (>60) or immunocompromised people. What does this mean?! Does this have any relation to Katherine's mysterious eye malady from a few weeks ago? Is she immunocompromised for a bad reason? Is that why the chicken pox virus is reactivated?
I can see why physicians tend not to provide healthcare to their own family members.
Unless her pain worsens or the rash increases, I've decided I'm ok with waiting until Monday so she can go to the Family Practice Clinic. I wanted to drive to the ER at 11 pm this evening. She wasn't so excited about that.
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4 comments:
You can imagine my "slightly" sarcastic reaction to Amy's desire to hop to the ER :-)
Trust me, it isn't that bad.
Also, I am definately considering removing myself from the Blue Cross, Blue Shield, "we will provide you with an overly enthusiastic med student or two with access to the internet" Health Care service.
LOL.
a) I wonder if Katherine thought the rash was "beautiful".
b) Poor Katherine.
c) One of my coworkers had shingles when I first joined the group. He was out - or working from home - for what seemed like ages. Naturally, I looked it up on the internet and it did not sound fun. Hopefully your case is milder!
d) I might've actually gone to the ER too, so it's not just a overly enthusiastic med school thing. :-)
Glad to hear it isn't that bad, Katherine. I can definitely picture Amy's reaction! Hope it clears up soon :)
We have a 'rule' at the clinic that we don't typically provide PT services to our own family members. For some reason, every seems to respond, and listen better, to a non-family member.
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