Jana Pittman's mum struck down by debilitating disease: 'Even light clothing was too painful'
By Jo Abi|
?Jana Pittman has just completed surgery on a patient when she takes some time out to talk to 9Honey about the debilitating disease shingles.
"Mum had horrible, horrible shingles," Pittman, 40, tells 9Honey while juggling her phone, jumping into her car with her 16-year-old and continuing our chat on speaker phone as she takes him to an appointment.
"She got it really badly in December 2021. Mum had it under her right breast, on her back, she couldn't wear a bra, she couldn't wear clothes so she didn't leave the house for six or seven weeks.
"At that time she was my nanny, so it was really hard."
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Pittman, the former Australian athlete who has since retrained as a doctor, is mum to six children aged from five to 16, so she has her hands full.
"For Mum, even light clothing was too painful. That shows the intense neurological pain that comes with shingles."
Shingles is a viral infection that can cause a painful rash. It results from the reactivation of the chicken pox virus at a time when the patient is immuno-compromised, which Pittman explains can happen due to age, illness, lack of sleep or periods of extreme stress.
"If you haven't had chicken pox you can't get shingles, you'll just get chicken pox," she continues.
Symptoms of shingles can vary, but usually begin with nerve pain.
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"Some people get pain first. What I hear most is a sharp, stabbing pain on the skin and they don't know what it is. Then a rash over the area where there was pain," Pittman says.
"Sometimes there is nausea and vomiting. Sometimes there are fevers, headaches and flu-like symptoms."
She says the rash tends to be focused on one side of the body and is particularly dangerous when it develops on the face near the eyes.
"A lot of people do get it on their face and near their eyes and can go blind," she adds.?
Aa recent survey commissioned by GSK Australia shows most of those surveyed perceive the impact of shingles as 'very serious', but only 11 per cent regarded themselves as being personally at risk of shingles in the next year.
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Dr Sarah Chu, who specialises in preventative medicine, says it's important to talk about shingles because anybody who has had chickenpox before is at risk of developing it.
"There is an age-related decline in our immunity. This has implications because for most people who've had chickenpox before, it's their immune system that keeps this virus at bay," Chu says.
"As we get older, this age-related decline means that we may no longer suppress the virus, and reactivation of this leads to shingles.
"It's the group in the 50s and 60s I find, who still feel quite young on the inside, that significantly underestimate their risk of developing shingles.
"It can be a painful disease that may severely impact a person's quality of life, so?I really encourage people to talk to their GP about shingles."
High school teacher Bernie Blackall developed shingles in his early 60s and says it was so painful, he thought he'd dislocated his shoulder.?
"The pain was so intense, it was excruciating; worse than when I dislocated my shoulder," he tells 9Honey.
"I thought it would never happen to me, but it ended up impacting my quality of life for several months. It effectively prevented me from doing most of the things I really enjoy.
While there are various treatments for shingles, Pittman is urging Aussies to present to their GP if they feel they are at risk of developing shingles.
"One in three Australians will get shingles in their lifetime, so please see your GP if you think you are at risk and talk about how to reduce your probability of developing it."
?This week (February 28-March 3) is Shingles Awareness Week. Visit your GP if you feel you are at risk.?
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