Raising awareness. Ali Fedotowsky opened up about her struggle with shingles after being diagnosed at a rare age.
“Some of you noticed that I’ve been hiding my face on Instagram this week. Either by holding something over it, wearing sunglasses, or putting my hair over my left eye. Why? I was diagnosed with shingles,” Fedotowsky, 36, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, July 29.
The former reality star explained that she chose to initially hide her public symptoms because she “didn’t want the added stress” of the internet knowing as she tried to deal with the infection.
“In fact, stress is likely the reason I got #shingles. I’m sharing now because I hope my story will help others detect it early. I didn’t even think it was possible to get it at my age,” Fedotowsky noted.
The entertainment journalist shared that she wasn’t expecting to be diagnosed with the painful neurological condition because it has been known to affect people over the age of 60. Fedotowsky also posted several videos and photos that documented her journey with shingles in an effort to help others consider checking themselves.
“Early detection is key in hopefully lessening the severity and duration of shingles,” the Bachelorette alum detailed. “I noticed my forehead feeling a little itchy & tingly. I remember I kept itching my head and felt this electricity underneath my skin (my nerves acting up).”
The Massachusetts native is currently still struggling with swelling and blurred vision in her eyes, but she has been avoiding stress to help the healing process. Fedotowsky continued to keep her fans updated via her Instagram Stories, noting she was “on the mend now” after some painful few days.
“I’m so excited because my blisters are scabbing over today which means that I’m hopefully gonna be able to snuggle up the kids soon. I’ll probably give it one more day just to be extra cautious,” she said in a video posted to her Instagram Stories on Friday, July 30.
Fedotowsky continued: “It’s kind of confusing actually because shingles itself is not contagious, like, I can’t give somebody shingles. But if you have never had chicken pox or aren’t vaccinated, I could give somebody chicken pox. So I have had to stay clear from the kids at least with direct contact.”
Fedotowsky, who shares Molly, 5, and Riley, 3, with her husband, Kevin Manno, did note that this was information that she had heard from her doctor and from doing her own research. She suggested that others always check with their doctors when it came to knowing the risks of shingles.
