How to care for a Patient with Shingles
If you are helping to care for someone with shingles
and particularly if they are elderly, then here are
some ideas to make life more comfortable for them:
- As soon as the rash appears and has been diagnosed
as shingles, start treatment. If treatment can be
commenced within two or three days of the
outbreak, the shingles will be less severe and there
is less chance of the patient going on to suffer
from postherpetic neuralgia.
- You cannot catch shingles by touching the sore
skin or the bed or chair where the person has been
lying or sitting so if wearing less clothing will
make the patient more comfortable then encourage
this. Some people with shingles are very sensitive
to touch so try to touch only the side of the body
that does not have the rash.
- You can catch chicken pox from a person with shingles
blisters so keep anyone who has never had chicken
pox away from the patient. (This particularly
applies to pregnant women where there is a danger
to the unborn fetus).
- Relieve any discomfort with cool compresses unless
your patient finds it makes the pain worse.
- Look for ways to relieve the stress of the pain
for your patient such as meditation or listening
to soothing music.
- Make sure your patient has a pain reliever if
necessary and you may need a prescription for something
to help insomnia if this is a problem. In some cases,
the pain can be very severe and with such pain,
it is hard to find a comfortable position whether
sitting, lying down or walking around. Your
patient needs as much sleep as possible.
- Constant pain can affect your patient’s
appetite - try to encourage your patient to eat
well (you may need to provide extra tasty treats).
- Constant pain can also make your patient cross,
sad or depressed – this will need extra patience
and kindness on your part.
Most cases of shingles
outbreaks are over in about a month so with your
care and attention, your patient’s life (as
well as your own) can get back to normal in that time.
Within one year of the rash, the majority of people
will have very little or no pain at all.
If you are searching for
a natural and safe Shingles
Treatment, try Heal
Shingles - a proven effective formula
for Shingles.
The New Vaccine for Shingles and how it could help
In May 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration registered a new vaccine which could prevent half of all the elderly (those people sixty years and older) from developing shingles and herpes zoster. This vaccine is not designed to prevent new infections of shingles but rather to prevent the re-emergence of an infection. The FDA is confident that this vaccine will have a significant impact on what is a growing and painful disease in an increasingly aging population.
This new vaccine would help by boosting an older person’s immunity against the virus, thereby preventing the virus from emerging from its dormant state in the nervous system and causing shingles. The vaccine would not be recommended for those people whose immune systems had already been compromised such as those living with HIV/Aids or patients receiving immunosuppressant therapy. Unfortunately, it would not be of help to those people who had already had an outbreak of shingles or who were presently suffering from shingles.
According to the Department of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre, the vaccine has been tested for ten years and shows a reduction in the incidence of shingles by fifty per cent. Since shingles affects millions of people each year, they feel the vaccine could offer a significant benefit.
The Nerve Injury Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital add their approval to the introduction of the vaccine by saying that it is a terrific advance, with major implications in preventing a serious, common, chronic pain condition. They feel the benefits are potentially enormous not only in lessening illness from shingles but also in preventing postherpetic neuralgia.
