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Herpes Zoster, fever symptoms, and Aciclovir

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DoctorQuestion
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Herpes Zoster, fever symptoms, and Aciclovir
Posted: 04-20-08 06:47am

I've been given a 7 day course of 800mg x 5 of Aciclovir as a treatment for shingles

About a day into my treatment I started to get chills/feel weak (slight fever)
the next, though I was on the mend, but last night - i had SEVERE chills. Literally i was shaking like anything

Could this at all be related to Aciclovir, or did I just coincidentally get another virus at the same time --- the side effects sheet doesn't really mention this.


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Herpes and Genital Warts Answer A3996
Posted: 04-24-08 16:08pm

Shingles (herpes-zoster) can’t cause a fever normally because, thanks to the immune system, the virus outbreak remains restricted only to a certain skin area.


Only in cases where the immune system is suppressed (HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, post transplantation patients) can herpes zoster be spread and cause serious complications (encephalitis, pneumonia, etc) that can be manifested with fever, along with the other symptoms.


In some rare cases, herpes-zoster can provoke acute demyelinisating encephalitis (brain inflammation) that represents a kind of allergic reaction and can be manifested with fever along with the other symptoms.


If the skin lesion is large and secondarily infected with bacteria, it might cause a fever.
The option that you mentioned (another viral infection at the same time as shingles) is possible and more likely than the previous options, especially in your case.


There is no data that Aciclovir can cause fever and chills.





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