Shingles is a disease that causes a painful rash. If your parent has a case of shingles, the most important thing you can do for her now is to make her comfortable as she waits for it to pass. Now might be a good time to look at hiring a skilled nursing care provider to help your mom care for the blisters and pain that may come along with her outbreak.

Shingles is also called herpes zoster, and can only occur in those that have had chickenpox at some time in their lives (even if it was decades and decades ago). It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox (the varicella-zoster virus) and that virus will continue to live in a person’s nerve cells long after the person has recovered from chickenpox. For most adults, it never develops into shingles, but about 1 in 3 adults who had chickenpox will develop shingles if they haven’t had the shingles vaccine.

Here are some ways you or your skilled nursing care provider can help your parent get through the next few weeks.

Have her wear loose-fitting clothes. Depending on where the rash is located, having tight-fitting or scratchy clothes will aggravate it. Soft cotton and silks will be most comfortable so that if the fabric does brush up again the blisters, it won’t cause more harm.

Encourage her to take an oatmeal bath. Oatmeal will help soothe the rash. If your parent needs help getting in and out of a tub, a skilled nursing care provider can help make sure she does so safely. The nursing care provider can also help apply prescribed lotion to the affected areas, especially if they are out of reach.

Use cool washcloths. Another way to relieve the immediate pain is with cool washcloths place upon them. It’ll not only ease the pain but help the blisters to dry out.

Monitor the affected area daily. Sometimes shingles can wrap around the torso, making it difficult to see how it’s developing and hopefully healing. A skilled nursing care provider can help monitor the blisters to make sure they’re not getting infected or need additional care. Your parent should try to keep the area clean and not scratch at the blisters to keep her skin healthy and scar-free once the blisters are gone.

Help her keep her mind off of the rash. Distraction will help your parent to not focus too much on the pain and itching. Having someone over to play games or go for a stroll can help your parent forget for a little bit about the uncomfortableness the rash causes.

It will also be important for your parent to avoid anyone who hasn’t had chickenpox, or the vaccine, or has a weakened immune system while she has open blisters. That will help her prevent spreading the virus. Fortunately, there are very few serious complications from shingles and the rash will run its course in just a few weeks.

Shingles | National Institute on Aging (nih.gov)

If you or a family member need to hire Skilled Nursing Care Services in Delray Beach FL, call the caring professionals at Star Multi Care today at (954) 870-4770. We provide service in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill, Margate, Pompano Beach, and Tamarac.

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Stephen Sternbach

CEO at Star Multi Care Services

With over 35 years of experience, Stephen Sternbach has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Star Multi Care Services since 1987. After the sale of the New York and New Jersey operations of Star Multi Care Services, Sternbach brought the company private where he remains President and CEO of this 40-million dollar company. With Sternbach at the helm, Star Multi Care Services employs more than 650 employees, in six offices throughout Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

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