Can a person travel while on Acyclovir for shingles?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a patient, age 30, with Crohn’s disease. I take Humira and recently had a flare up, thus started a round of Prednisone to get through the flare-up. The combination of Humira and Prednisone has resulted in shingles. I saw a dermatologist who prescribed Acyclovir. I was six days into the shingles before realizing I needed to see a dermatologist. I have been on Acyclovir for two days and have not seen the shingles spread. Can I go for a trip?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I went through your post. Shingles involve a single dermatome. So, it is unlikely going to spread and will heal completely in two weeks. Prednisolone is a steroid and can cause reactivation of Shingles. So you need to take Acyclovir at least for one week and continue Prednisolone and Humira (Adalimumab) until your IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) goes in remission. Then you can slowly decrease the dose of Prednisolone and finally take it off. You can go on a trip.