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Suggest Treatment For Left-sided Pain In The Back And Chest
Question: I have soreness and pain on left side of back and around to front part of chest. I am a woman. What could this be?
Brief Answer:
muscle strain or possibility of shingles
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
It may be a muscle strain, but if it feels different from muscle strains you've had in the past, and the area is a continuous patch, it is possible that it is the start of Shingles. Shingles affects a particular dermatome (an area of skin that is fed by one nerve group) and therefore does not usually cross the midline of the body.
With shingles, people sometime feel somewhat achy for a few days, then pain and a rash. I have had Shingles and the pain can precede the eruption of rash.
With shingles it is important to start an oral antiviral medicine such as acyclovir within 3 days of begin of symptoms. This decreases the severity of the course of illness.
But it could also be a muscle strain, which would be treated with rest and ibuprofen (after eating).
Because there is the possibility that it could be shingles, and because an antiviral medicine should be started early, I recommend that you go in to be seen promptly.
muscle strain or possibility of shingles
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
It may be a muscle strain, but if it feels different from muscle strains you've had in the past, and the area is a continuous patch, it is possible that it is the start of Shingles. Shingles affects a particular dermatome (an area of skin that is fed by one nerve group) and therefore does not usually cross the midline of the body.
With shingles, people sometime feel somewhat achy for a few days, then pain and a rash. I have had Shingles and the pain can precede the eruption of rash.
With shingles it is important to start an oral antiviral medicine such as acyclovir within 3 days of begin of symptoms. This decreases the severity of the course of illness.
But it could also be a muscle strain, which would be treated with rest and ibuprofen (after eating).
Because there is the possibility that it could be shingles, and because an antiviral medicine should be started early, I recommend that you go in to be seen promptly.
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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