Archive for January 31st, 2012

Posted on January 31, 2012 - by Nurse Virginia

STRESS RELATED CONDITIONS IN THE ELDERLY – ALOPECIA/SHINGLES

(PART III)

Louise could just as easily have developed Shingles after her emotional stress. (See part I) All of the potential was there. Louise had had Chickenpox as a child. Only people who have had Chickenpox get shingles, as it is the same virus. After having Chickenpox the virus lies dormant in your nervous system, near your nerve endings. It can be many years later that something triggers the virus to come back down the nerve, to the skin, and erupt again into a painful pustule or a “shingle.”

Louise is also well over 60 years old, most people who develop shingles are over sixty. All the possible triggers that bring on a case of shingles are not known. However, being exposed to a child with chickenpox is certainly one. And having a severe emotionally stressful event can bring about an attack of shingles as well.

Shingles may start out with an elder just feeling under the weather, or it might begin with intense pain. A few days later the red rash will appear. This rash develops fluid filled pustules, just as with chickenpox. You do not want to break these pustules. They will open and drain on their own. Opening any encapsulated blister or pustule provides an opportunity for infection to begin.

Using an antibiotic ointment as the pustules open and drain prevents against the possibility of infection. This fluid that drains is extremely itchy and very problematic for the confused elder who forgets not to scratch.

An elder who is confused and unable to express their feelings of pain, should be medicated as well as monitored for signs of pain. Keeping in mind that the pain of shingles can be present long after the last pustule has drained and healed. Pain management may be indicated for up to a year after the shingles event, especially if it was a severe case and involved the eyes.

 

Virginia Garberding R.N.

Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance

www.pleasegettoknowme.com