An estimated one million adults get shingles each year. By the age of 85, half of all adults have had shingles. Some people get through shingles without too many problems. Some develop a severe form of nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia.
Your dad has shingles, and he’s having a rough time with the nerve pain. Even the pressure of a sheet is too much for him to handle. Weeks later, the pain hasn’t diminished. His doctor has options, and one of them involves home health nurses. How can home health care services offer him help as he recovers?
Wound Care
The shingles rash can be uncomfortable. It’s itchy, burns, and even aches. Blisters can form over most of a week and form blisters that scab over. If your dad scratches those blisters, there’s the chance of infection. If bacteria get into the blisters, it can cause cellulitis.
Home health care nurses help with wound care. They can ensure the infected area is cleaned and kept covered to prevent more bacteria from entering the rash. Antibiotic administration through IVs is also possible with a nurse’s help.
Medication Administration
If your dad’s doctor decides to prescribe medication, especially pain medications, he needs to take them on schedule. When he’s in pain, your dad may not remember when he last took a dose of a prescription painkiller or if he took the antidepressant or anticonvulsant.
Home health care nurses can take over medication administration, give him the pills, and make sure he swallows them. If the dosages need to change, nurses will work with the doctor to make those adjustments.
IVs and Injections
Some antiviral medications that can help people with shingles are administered through an IV line. You cannot set up intravenous lines, but you don’t have to go to the doctor’s office. Your dad can have a home health care nurse stop by to administer these medications.
Corticosteroid injections or anesthetics can be used to ease the pain. Your dad can have his home health care nurse give him those injections. That way, he never has to leave his home to get the relief he needs.
Talk to his doctor. If he would benefit from IV medications, it’s worth talking about having nurses come to his home for those IV treatments. It keeps him from having to get in and out of a car when his pain is severe.
With home health care services, your dad has nurses coming to his home to set up an IV and administer the treatment options. Ask the home health care expert about the benefits of wound care, too. Call now.
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