Rozalia Russian has revealed how her Melbourne Cup Carnival experience was ruined after she suffered a painful viral infection shortly before the big race.
The glamorous influencer, 36, married to Melbourne businessman Nick Russian, 45, shared a lengthy Instagram post detailing her health struggles.
She revealed the trouble started after a night out at the Don Julio Derby Day after-party at her husband’s venue, Bar Bambi.
‘It’s amazing what a few hours can do. So a few hours ago I was at the races in the most beautiful dress, full of glamour, amazing hair and now look at me,” she said.
Rozalia then developed a nasty rash around her eye and said she was struggling with a painful headache, but initially ignored the symptoms and ‘turned them on’ during the races.
“I just got home from the doctor because this has been happening to me all week,” she explained.
‘It started on Monday when I woke up with the tiniest rash on my face and just a really bad earache and headache.
‘I was just thinking big night, Derby night, am I still hungover? Is my skin just broken from drinking too much?’
Rozalia Russian had her Melbourne Cup Carnival experience ruined after contracting a painful viral infection before the big race. Rozalia is pictured at the 2024 Melbourne Cup
The influencer, 36, married to businessman Nick Russian, 45, shared a lengthy Instagram post detailing her health issues and showing off her nasty eye rash (pictured)
Despite her pain, she returned to Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday to soak up the atmosphere of the Melbourne Cup – one of the top events on Australia’s social calendar.
“I had some Panadol and Zyrtec to ignore the fact that the side of my face felt like a knife was sticking it in,” she said.
When her symptoms worsened, Rozalia then went for a facial and when that didn’t work, she gave in and sought medical help.
Rozalia said she was “floored” when the doctor told her she had shingles.
‘I was floored. I thought: are you serious? Here I think it might be a flea bite. No wonder I felt so bad,” she said.
Shingles is a skin rash characterized by pain and blistering that usually appears on one side of the face or body.
After suffering painful symptoms all week at the races, Rozalia (pictured with Nick) said she was ‘floored’ when the doctor told her she had shingles
The virus responsible for shingles can be transmitted to someone who has not had chickenpox disease or vaccinations when he/she comes into contact – directly or indirectly – with the fluid in the rash blisters.
Rozalia explained: ‘[The doctor] said that if you didn’t have chickenpox when you were younger, it can lie dormant in your system and then just come out when you’re stressed, when you’re tired, maybe when you’re dancing with Bambi until three o’clock, who know? We are not here to judge.’
Rozalia said she is relieved that the virus is not contagious, as she feared her husband Nick and children Willow, 10, and Kingston, 8, would become unwell.