I woke up two days ago with a bad headache and with my left ear swollen and very painful. I also had a swelling on the left side of my neck that was very painful to touch. I saw my doctor this afternoon; he said he thought I was developing hives. He prescribed Cephalexin 250MG and Acyclovir 400Mg. I forgot to ask him and the pharmacist if hives are contagious----so I’m asking you guys on the SDMB. My 83 year old sister is concerned; she thinks they might be.
Hives are not contagious. However, Acyclovir is used to treat the various types of herpes outbreaks (cold sores, genital sores, shingles, chicken pox), so if you are having a herpes outbreak it is possible (not extremely likely, but possible) to transmit that virus to your sister.
If I remember correctly, you’re over the age of 60. If you had chicken pox as a kid, you’re in the demographic for shingles. Shingles rashes are contagious. Again, not commonly so, and only if it’s an open, weepy rash, but the risk is there.
The doc is treating the OP with an antibiotic and an anti-viral, for something that’s typically an allergic reaction. Weird is an understatement. Certainly qualifies as throwing the kitchen sink at a problem.
When I had actual hives of an unknown origin, I was given Rx strength doses of desloratidine and hydroxyzine to take morning and night. Took 6 months to clear up.
When they first appeared, I went to my GP. She decided it was ringworm and Rx’d drugs for that. I was positive that was not what I had and asked for a referral to a dermatologist upstairs. When I walked into that office, the first thing the receptionist asked was, “are you breathing OK?” And the first thing the physician’s assistant asked when she saw me was, “are you breathing OK?” And the first thing the doctor asked when he saw me was, “are you breathing OK?”
To the derm people, my hives were obvious. To my GP, not so much. I ended up needing to take 3 days off work, had to go to the derm’s office daily so he could check me, and he gave me his personal cell to call him on Sunday to tell him I was OK, he didn’t clear me for work until he saw me again Monday. Hives are not contagious, but they can be serious.
The doctor said he THOUGHT I was developing hives; he made it clear to me that IF it was hives it was not clearly developed at the time he saw me. He said he would prescribe an antibiotic “just in case” it was an unexplained rash he was seeing. The rash is behind my left ear; obviously I haven’t seen it myself. I might not have fully explained my symptoms in the OP.
From your description and prescription
Hives is not your conniption
Rashes are notoriously hard to diagnose.
The doc is treating you for either shingles (likely the right Dx) or a bacterial infection called cellulitis. Surprised he used the term hives. That is usually used to describe an inflammatory skin reaction frequently seen in an allergic response.
Chicken pox is the herpes zoster virus (which is related to but different from the herpes simplex varieties of cold sores and genital sores, and a few others that cause mononucleosis and the cytomegalovirus).
So if you’ve had chicken pox you’ve been exposed to a herpes virus. If you’ve ever had a cold sore you have been exposed to a herpes virus. Count in the other half dozen viruses in the herpes family and over 90% of human beings have been infected at one point or another.
Acyclovir is used to treat most, if not all of them.
So… your doc might be thinking your rash is from some sort of herpes (hence the acyclovir) and the rash may have a secondary bacterial infection (hence the cephalexin).
Having suffered from things like cold sores and cellulitis as well as actual hives I suppose the swelling from things like a herpes flare up and/or patchy skin infection might superficially resemble hives but, honestly, to me it sounds like the doc isn’t entirely sure what’s going on. We sure as heck are sure what’s going on since none of us are doctors (though one of the Doper Docs might show up) and can’t see what’s actually going on.
I’d say ask your doctor for a better explanation or get a second opinion.
Thanks for the replies; I appreciate the inputs. After checking some things on the Mayo Clinic web pages I wonder if I have shingles instead of hives; I gather they might be hard to distinguish in the early stages. Whatever I have is painful and Tylenol isn’t all that effective; I intend to check with the doctor tomorrow.
He thought you were “developing” hives? In my experience hives aren’t something that comes on slowly, either you don’t have them or now you do. They do spread from one body part to another sometimes, though.