Patient/caregiver was educated on complications of shingles as follows:
- Reactivation of shingles: Strong and intact immune system can help keeping the virus latent, thus preventing it’s reactivation. The latent virus has the potential to get reactivated in future, especially under conditions of compromised immune system, resulting in a fresh episode of shingles.
- Postherpetic neuralgia: The shingles activation is mostly self-limited, with the burning pain and itching continuing for two to four weeks, until the rash resolves. Patients could continue to experience some deep burning pain for prolonged periods of time, after the rash resolved, which is called postherpetic neuralgia.
- Vision loss: Shingles can involve any nervous tissues in the body. Involvement of optic nerve and retina, which help in visual function, can result in eye pain with redness, swelling, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, and even blindness in severe cases.
