“I felt ugly inside and out.”
British designer India Hicks shares details of her struggle with a painful health condition.
Hicks, goddaughter of King Charles III and a bridesmaid at his 1981 wedding to Princess Diana, says she spent weeks battling shingles, even though her dermatologist didn’t initially recognize it.
The 59-year-old retired model revealed she was only diagnosed after an eagle-eyed stranger identified her symptoms via photos on social media.
Hicks said “the pain from shingles put my life on hold.”
David M. Bennett/Getty Images
Shingles is a viral infection with a painful rash caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus. Hicks said the ordeal left her face swollen and her arm covered in blisters until a stranger online helped her get answers.
Hicks recounted her ordeal in an interview with NewBeauty, where she discussed her involvement in pharmaceutical giant GSK’s “Shingles, Actually” campaign, launched last month to raise awareness of the condition among older adults.
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The designer joined Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, a spokesperson for the campaign, as well as model Molly Sims, TV host Hoda Kotb and chef Candace Nelson at a GSK event in New York in October.
“The pain from shingles has put my life on hold,” Hicks wrote in a collaboration post with the organization on Instagram, explaining that her experience inspired her to raise awareness about the disease.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace with two of their bridesmaids, India Hicks (left) and Clementine Hambro (bottom right), and their pageboys, Edward Van Cutsem (second from left) and Lord Nicholas Windsor (right), after their wedding on July 29, 1981 in London, England.
Anwar Hussein/Getty Images
Hicks said her symptoms first appeared during a dinner with model Helena Christensen, when she noticed an unusual sensation spreading down her face and arm.
“I could feel something coming up the side of my face and down my arm,” Hicks recalled. “It was the start of the blisters and I felt ugly inside and out.”
India Hicks attends the GSK Shingles Actually event in New York, New York on October 7 with Molly Sims, Dr. Jen Caudle, Viola Davis, India Hicks, Hoda Kotb and Candace Nelson.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Chandler Chicco
At the time, Hicks was preparing to travel to Ukraine with the disaster relief organization Global Empowerment Mission. She initially saw this irritation as a physical response to anxiety related to her humanitarian work.
Hicks said a blistering rash appeared on his arm during a trip to Ukraine and eventually worsened, leaving him with painful, oozing blisters.
Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
But the rash worsened during his trip, leaving him with painful, oozing blisters.
Back in England, Hicks saw a dermatologist who failed to identify the infection and prescribed several creams.
By the time she returned home to the Bahamas, her symptoms had become increasingly concerning.
It wasn’t until Hicks took to social media that she got answers to her mysterious rash.
Dave M. Bennett/Getty Images
The breakthrough came after Hicks shared her experience on social media and described what she thought was a stress-related reaction.
“Someone answered and said, ‘You have shingles,’ because the description of falling on one side was very telling,” she said.
An American doctor later confirmed the fan’s early diagnosis.
“Shingles wasn’t even on my radar,” Hicks admitted, explaining that she never associated the condition with someone as physically active as she was.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three Americans will develop shingles in their lifetime, with the risk increasing after age 50.
India Hicks hopes to inspire women over 50 to take charge of their health.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Chandler Chicco
Although Hicks described her case as relatively mild, she said the illness exhausted her and forced her to postpone work commitments.
She now hopes her experience will encourage others to take the disease seriously.
“Everyone over the age of 50 should be encouraged to ask their doctor or pharmacist about the risk of shingles and prevention,” she said.
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