Darn it, I've got Shingles

Hi guys,

Hi Newport, Jessies'mom, I've been reading, but I decided to shut up for a while because of a case of personal paranoia. I hope that you are both well, or getting better and the same to anyone else reading, I've had a good summer, except for a swollen index finger with itchy spots on it. (I've learned to type pretty well 9 fingered now.)

I did not know what was wrong, I injured myself shooting my cap and ball rifle because I stuck in too much powder, and my hand & shoulder got swollen. A month later, my finger was still swollen, I thought I had an over use problem from doing wire jewelry, and I went to a chiropractor, who is great, and is fixing my back problems. He thought it was infected, and I removed a little piece of stainless steel stringing wire (nasty little bitty item, but long) which had been in my finger quite a while, but got aggravated because of the swelling. I thought that would do it, but it didn't heal, and after three months of swelling, I actually have what looks like a chichen pox, with itching and swelling on the finger.

I know a lot of things to do about a viral infection, now I know what it is, and although nobody wants shingles, at least now I can start to treat it with some hope of progress. I have just been miserable because I couldn't do my job, at first I used a buddy wrap to protect the finger, and I really couldn't work, so I got time to think about what I like about my life that I didn't get to do anymore. Now I've got the finger in a splint, which protects it from most of the bangs I get making jewelry, and I doing almost everything I usually do again, with a few totally frustrating exceptions. I can do almost everything with 9 fingers, 8 fingers just didn't cut it. I didn't want to use a splint, because I didn't want o lose any mobility in the finger, now I use it when I need to work.

I may have to overcome my technophobia, and figure out how to use a rife machine. This does respond to my zapper, I used it assuming I had an abcess of some kind, along with hot water soaks and epson salts, which has probably not done the shingles much good, and was painful at times.

I gather rife does work on shingles, so I am again going to take a try at buying one.
Julie Tweet