Shingles..

Poor mum's been coughing & complaining that her kidneys are aching.. Then there's also some spots of rashes on her back, below her waist area.. When niece brought her to her geriatric doctor in the afternoon, it's confirmed that she's suffering from shingles.

What's shingles?

Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus - the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It may not cause problems for many years. As you get older, the virus may reappear as shingles. Unlike chickenpox, you can’t catch shingles from someone who has it.

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching, usually on one side of the body or face. The pain can be mild to severe. Blisters then form and last from one to 14 days. If shingles appears on your face, it may affect your vision or hearing. The pain of shingles may last for weeks, months or even years after the blisters have healed.

There is no cure for shingles. Early treatment with medicines that fight the virus may help. These medicines may also help prevent lingering pain. A vaccine may prevent shingles or lessen its effects. The vaccine is for people 60 or over who have had chickenpox but who have not had shingles.

What got me so frustrated was that when I got home, I asked if she's taken her medicine & she said she'll only start taking them tomorrow! I simply do not understand her rationale. She said because doc told her that she needs to take her medicine 5 times a day & she only got home around 6pm, she couldn't possibly consume 5 pills by tonight. So she decided that she will start taking her medicine from tomorrow! Sigh! Even I being so illogical cannot understand her logic! I got so upset with the entire situation.

She's really the death of me!