Question

In paragraph formation, may I have halp answering these questions. Thank you.

Mrs. C, aged 78 years, presents to the clinic today reporting severe pain in her side.

1. What questions could be helpful in identifying the source of her pain?

Mrs. C points to a 2-inch region of pain that starts in the middle of her back and travels to the front of her rib cage. She describes the pain as burning and rates the severity as an 8. She is unable to identify any alleviating or aggravating factors. When she was getting dressed this morning, she did notice a “bump or two” on her side. Physical assessment reveals vesicles on an erythematous base that have a segmental distribution along a dermatome.

2. Mrs. C is diagnosed with shingles, and she wants to know what caused it. What information will guide the response?

3. How is shingles diagnosed?

4. Mrs. C wants to know if an antibiotic will cure the problem. How will you respond?

5. Since antibiotics will not work, how are shingles treated?

6. Mrs. C wants to know what she could have done to prevent this horrible problem. How would you respond?

Answer 1

1. She should be asked whether she had fever associated with pain?

Since, how long she is suffering from pain?

During which time the pain flares up or experienced intense?

Is she using any medications for any other medical conditions?

Is she having allergy towards any medication?

When did she meet her physician last and for what purpose?

2.

Shingles are the vesicles similar to chicken pox but occur only in distinctive areas. They normally occur along the waist but facial shingles and also on chest and back were also observed. The infection occurs due to distribution of affected cutaneous sensory nerves unilaterally. Such nerve infections may result in nerve damage causing impaired vision or paralysis. Severe burning or stinging pain is the frequent symptom that persists months or years and the condition is known as postherpetic neuralgia. Shingles is the different expression of the virus that causes the chicken pox. Shingles is due to infection of herpes zoster.

3. Shingles can be diagnosed by detecting antibodies against chicken pox virus.

4. Antiviral agents are required to treat the condition.

5. Drugs like acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir are used for the treatment of shingles.

6. Live or attenuated varicella vaccine is useful to prevent the problem.