Age: 67.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: VARZOS
Symptoms: Swelling, Urticaria
Clinical narrative: First adverse reaction occurred early 2014, c. 3 months after injection. Prepared for bedtime, lay down, felt a slight itch on lower leg. Scratched absentmindedly, felt a tiny conical bump. Within seconds, itch returned more severely. I looked, saw a tiny red bump, perhaps 1cm in diameter. As I have learned-- then and since --, ANY scratching results in highly-intensified itching, and enlargement of the bump to either a flattened red bump up to c.5cm diameter OR a welt as long as 60cm. The itching is severe, scratching is hard to control and can produce mild bleeding. Salves and lotions have no effect; some anti-itch sprays are quickly effective. Adverse outbreaks have occurred as much as 3 times per year since 2014, but as infrequently as once every 2 years. The most provocative outbreak occurred during a road trip in approximately late July, 2015.  My two-years-older brother and I broke out in intensive itching red bumps over perhaps 40% of our torsos, legs, arms, and feet within an hour of taking a room at a modest-cost motel. My brother's adoptive son in the same motel room experienced no symptoms. We brothers barely slept that night. While my symptoms diminished to nearly negligible over the next 3 days, my brother's symptoms raged for 5 days and diminished slowly over two weeks. Upon our return, my brother's regular doctor saw us together and called in an on-duty dermatologist to see us; the dermatologist gave us a 5-minute look-over and, with no evidence or further research whatsoever, flatly declared that this was an insect attack. The fact that there have been near-identical repeat adverse outbreaks both before and many times since that road trip suggest that her [rather ungracious and hurried] knee-jerk diagnosis has no basis in fact or evidence. Both brothers have been examined by Dr. In email communications with Patient/Reporter, Dr. initially rejected any connection between the injection and the hereindescribed adverse events, but eventually in a single email [no longer showing in email record system as available to this patient] acknowledged the medical possibility that a relationship might exist between the Zoster injection and the repeat adverse events. Sibling's injection: c. 06.2015 Multiple recorded emails re adverse events possibly related to Zostervirus injection exist in doctor/patient email system, notably an ongoing exchange between Patient/Reporter and Dr. between 08.17.2015 and 08.31.2017. On 08.17.2017, I wrote to Dr. Are you aware of anyone researching /writing up this poss. post-varicella-zoster injection reaction? I guarantee you this is NOT scabies or any other insect -- we both have 3-decade live-in partners & occasional guests, no-one else affected, no infestations, no roughing-it backcountry or remote foreign travel, period. MAYBE a motel chemical cleaner could have triggered this eruption, but not earlier ones. This is an agonizing, worse-than-bad-poison-oak condition. As no-one has offered any functional relief or explanation, isn't it intelligent to push the extents of the inquiry? Two brothers who see each other no more than monthly, live separate lives, both develop very similar conditions within one month after varicella-zoster injection. Patient's Personal Care Physician, Dr has been copied on basic adverse reactions reported herein. A possibility that permanent damage has been caused DOES exist, and is thus noted in ITEM 21 below.