"Good and tried their best...."

I visited twice in November 2016 for an extreme burning head episode that basically lasted a week. The only way I can describe it was as if my head was being cooked in sections at a time. Mornings were alright but by lunchtime the pain had worked a ring of fire around my head and carried on until the same again next morning. My hospital visits were on a weekday and Sunday, and although a little short staffed on Sunday I got seen quite fast by triage and then by the doctors. The place was very clean and airy. What I would like to say is that I found the staff and doctors to be lovely and thorough. But I was prescribed medication for 'cluster migraines' and told that if it continued to visit doctor for referral to Neurology if it didn't shift. Later my doctor found out it was more likely an episode of shingles that had got into the nerves in my head. It is now mid-January and although the initial pain has subsided I am left with one side of my head constantly itching, stinging and nipping or feeling very raw. My doctor has put me on Gabapentin for nerve pain/damage. I can't help feeling that if I had been given antivirals at the time - at the hospital - it could have stopped it in its tracks before it did the damage it has. Yes, this condition (shingles) can happen to young/younger people too. Especially with more hectic lifestyles, stress can creep in and trigger it, esp. if your immunity is low as well. It isn't this 'over 70s problem', that really needs to be redressed imo. And yes it can happen in your head as nerve round around your head too. Vitamin C and B12 are essential to help avoid or treat shingles. I am not blaming the doctors, they were very professional and helpful, ran blood tests, etc and listened. But I wish someone had picked up that antivirals might well be the answer -in winter- rather than medication also used for epilepsy that only gave me hallucinations, no sleep and didn't touch the fire. In all other respects I cannot fault the attention received at Halifax A and E. I am simply putting this out there in the hope someone at the hospital sees it and logs it for future reference.