How To Effectively Help With Shingles Now
What are shingles?
Shingles is an acute viral inflammation of the sensory ganglia of spinal and cranial nerves associated with a vesicular eruption and neuralgic pain and caused by reactivation of the herpes virus causing chickenpox—also called herpes zoster, zona, zoster.
Is it a viral disease?
Over the past 25 years, I have had lots of experience with shingles. If you have ever had the chickenpox vaccine, you have the potential to the virus. The development of painful rashes characterizes it. It is a common condition and strikes individuals with a low immune system. It is an infection of the nerves along with the skin around it.
The rash forms blisters that typically scab over in 7 to 10 days and clear up within 2 to 4 weeks. Most commonly, the rash occurs in a single stripe around the body’s left or right side. The location of the shingles rash can vary. Though shingles can appear almost anywhere on the body, it most commonly affects the torso and the face (including the eyes, ears, and mouth). In addition, it is often present in the ribcage or the waist area. I have even seen it on the back of my uncle.
It can strike individuals at any age.
Anyone can get it, but your loved ones between 50–60 years are at an increased risk of developing this condition. After an episode of chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in many nerve cells. However, as age advances, the virus gets active and causes painful red rashes and blisters. With advancing age, the immune system weakens. They reduce the body’s capacity to fight off infections. As a result, the virus gets activated, giving rise to the virus.
Symptoms of shingles
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Burning sensation accompanied by a tingling sensation in the skin
- you may become nauseous and experience a persistently upset stomach
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Numbness in the skin
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The skin is susceptible to touch
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Development of fluid-filled blisters
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Fever along with chills
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Headache
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Fatigue
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The rashes may itch and also cause severe pain
- Muscle pain is often an early warning sign of shingles
- Vision complications can occur if the shingles virus spreads to nerves that connect to the eyes
After-effects of shingles
These symptoms will make life miserable for your loved one. And in many cases, they may suffer from depression and anxiety. In many instances, your loved one may continue to experience pain in the same area where the rashes had developed. The pain is throbbing or stabbing and may cause postherpetic neuralgia.
Postherpetic neuralgia
Postherpetic neuralgia is a complication of shingles that affects nerve fibers and skin. The risk of postherpetic neuralgia increases with age, primarily affecting people older than 60. There’s no cure, but treatments can ease symptoms. For most people, postherpetic neuralgia improves over time. Your loved one might even feel the effects after the blisters are gone. Unfortunately, this pain makes life a total mess for our loved ones. Living with such type of pain isn’t easy. It will restrict their mobility. And also prevents them from carrying out their daily activities. Simple tasks such as cooking, gardening, dressing, and eating become difficult. The signs and symptoms of postherpetic neuralgia are generally limited to the area of your skin where the shingles outbreak first occurred — most commonly in a band around your trunk, usually on one side of your body. However, postherpetic neuralgia is also typical in people whose shingles occur on the face.
Tips to help your loved one with shingles
Taking care of our loved ones with shingles is challenging and requires lots of patience and love. The agony of itchy blisters and pain makes life difficult for our loved ones. Yet, these tips can help the family caregiver better care for our loved ones with shingles.
The moment rashes appear.
Take your loved one to the doctor’s office immediately. And put them on antiviral medication. By doing so, you can shorten the time of the disease, and the severity also reduces to a great extent. In addition, you can get a prescription for steroids for pain management.
Care for red rashes and blisters that develop during shingles
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They are painful, and taking care of them becomes necessary. To avoid secondary bacterial infection. Cover the affected area immediately with gauze or bandages. And do not let your loved ones touch or scratch, even if it itches.
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After touching the rash to avoid spreading the infection, caregivers should wash their hands very often.
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Shingles can make our loved ones very tired. So, the rest becomes very important. Lots of rest will ensure a complete recovery from the disease.
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Caregivers are to watch for any signs of complications in our loved ones. Because they are older and more prone to complications during the shingles attack, caregivers should report small changes to the doctor.
- Document everything to report to the doctor.
Shingles Vaccination
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Since prevention is better than any cure, protection against shingles is one of the best gifts one can give their loved one.
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The shingles vaccine is available for individuals between 50-60 years old.
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Talk to your doctor about the vaccine and ask them whether your parents can have the vaccine or not.
Caregivers can also consider giving alternative treatments for the shingles virus.
- A cool bath with oatmeal will ease the pain and itching.
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Giving your loved one’oneorice tea, mint tea, or lemon balm can help relieve the symptoms. Furthermore, clean eating will improve the immune system. And can offer a quick recovery from shingles. For this, Tai chi, a herbal supplement, has also proven to be beneficial.
- Create a thick paste using cornstarch or baking soda and water. To naturally relieve itching caused by a shingles rash.
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Practice meditation to get relief from depression and anxiety. Which are expected during the shingles attack.
- Apply a cool, moist compress. Do this several times throughout the day to relieve symptoms.
We can overcome shingles.
It is a painful and annoying condition for our loved ones. But we can help alleviate some effects with patience and tender loving care. Following all the tips mentioned above will help the caregiver and your loved one deal with the shingle virus much more accessible while helping our loved ones recover quickly and easily. For more information, check out this site on shingles. Also, check out my store to learn valuable information on caring for your loved ones. Finally, It can be challenging to attend to your loved one with constipation, but it’s not impossible. With the proper knowledge, you can do this. Don’t forget about caring for yourself and keeping your business going while caregiving. I’m here to assist you on this journey; schedule your planning session with me so we can look at how to keep your life and your business running smoothly.
