Grandmother has a case of shingles and I'm concerned - any advice?

Sorry to hear about your grandmother , it’s not a nice illness but some get it worse than others. She may or not get a lot of nerve pain , mine was very itchy. As it’s a virus , people do feel ill at the beginning sometimes with a fever and unwell. Shingles is a virus that everyone who has had chicken pox had and it lodges in the body near the spine until it activates for some reason . If people haven’t had chicken pox they can catch chicken pox from someone with shingles but only if they are in contact with blisters that are oozing. If the rash is covered or not weeping  it’s ok .You don’t get shingles from it . Mine lasted 8 weeks and not too much nerve pain but it varies so much for people. Hopefully she will recover soon . https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/shingles/

Hi Sarah,

Your Grandmother was acting and feeling a bit funny as an individual has constitutional symptoms such as a headache, fever chills, and sweating, aches and pains, malaise, fatigue, and exhaustion prior to the Herpes Zoster-Shingles rash showing.

It may be that your Grandmother has diabetic neuropathy in her legs, and may have reduced sensation in her legs, or the arthritic changes in her spine may have caused decrease sensation. Certainly, if she is on daily Morphine, that will help with the Shingles pain.

As she is a diabetic patient,

her skin around the rash is more susceptible to a secondary staphylococcus infection. Her skin should be inspected daily for any signs of infection.

As Ruth stated, you cannot catch shingles from another person, only chickenpox if you have never had it. The lesions would need to be exposed ie uncovered, to be contagious. The individuals with lung and kidney disease should only visit your Grandmother if her vesicle-blisters are totally covered. If they had chickenpox, they have nothing to worry about, however.

I would advise excellent handwashing technique after washing and drying her legs. Any fluid from the blisters is contagious to those naive to chickenpox. I would buy vinyl gloves from the pharmacy.

Your grandmother's blood sugar is apt to be a bit higher due to the infection by the Varicella virus. Your Grandmother is apt to be more tired, and in need of more sleep.

I would increase the frequency of blood glucose monitoring. I do not know what medications she is on.

Your Grandmother is already immunocompromised due to her diabetes and age. Her risk for infection, just went up. If she seems "off," or confused, get her checked out. The elderly often don't have a fever when they have an infection, FYI.

They might seem confused, lose their appetite, become paler, or flushed, and their urine output drops. Their tongue might appear dry.

I hope this helps you.

I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States. I have had Herpes Zoster-Shingles in my right ear every three to five weeks for the past twenty one years and twice in my right eye.

Best Wishes

Merry Juliana

Hi Sarah. I had an acute case of Shingles last year where I had about 60+ blisters. I did some research and followed others advice about using Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). I loaded it into a spray bottle and sprayed myself frequently. It was very effective in suppressing the pain. Also, I used crushed fresh garlic to eliminate my fever as it is has natural medical powers. Best to have some yogurt to minimize upset the stomach from the garlic. I still have some nerve damage called Post Herpetic Neuralgia. I noticed that imbibing Alcohol or use of an electric blanket seem to exasperate my condition. Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your grandmother.  

THANK YOU for all your info and suggestions everyone, she's feeling better already and we're keeping an eye out for infections or anything like that.