How to handle when children have shingles

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is expertly advised by MSc. Dr. Nguyen Minh Tuan - Pediatrician at the Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital
Shingles is painful, uncomfortable, and contagious in children. Therefore, it is necessary for children to go to the doctor in time and in the right direction right from the beginning to shorten the time of recovery.

1. What should children with shingles do?

Children, if infected with the shingles virus, will develop chickenpox and after the treatment of chickenpox, the virus has not been repelled, but will reside in the nerve roots in the child's body, continue to wait. When the time is right, it will explode into shingles in children.
Children with shingles because their immune systems and resistance are still weak, so the disease will have unpredictable and complicated progress. Therefore, early detection and timely treatment of shingles for children will significantly reduce the risk of complications.
For those who are parents for the first time, it must be very worried when their baby suddenly gets shingles. Parents will be confused, not knowing what medicine to apply to children with shingles or how to treat shingles for children safely and effectively. In this case, it is best to take the child to the hospital to be examined and treated by a specialist, not to buy medicine and treat it at home for the child, it will make the condition worse and increase the danger. and complications of the disease.

2. Treatment of shingles in children

Currently, there is still no cure for shingles in young children, but there are ways to ease the discomfort and pain of shingles in children. Usually shingles goes away on its own after its life cycle is over and can last for about a month. Therefore, not every child with shingles needs to be treated, however, to help the child feel more comfortable, the doctor can give the child some medicines such as: Antiviral drugs such as: Acyclovir (Zovirax) ), valacyclovir (Valtrex), famciclovir (Famvir)... Some of these drugs cannot clear the virus from the body, but they can help reduce complications from the zoster virus.
In addition, when treating shingles in children, the doctor may also prescribe some skin creams, patches, sprays or oral medications such as Tylenol, ibuprofen... to relieve nerve pain in However, the dose should be based on the age of the child, should not give the child aspirin for treatment because it can lead to Reye's syndrome.
In case the child has severe pain and red blisters appear around the eyes, antiviral drugs with steroids should be used. In some cases, corticosteroids also work to help reduce skin inflammation, use this medicine only when prescribed by your doctor.
Shingles in children can be cured if treated properly, some drugs can be highly effective in treating such as Acyclovir, Famciclovir or Valacyclovir... if used in the first 3 days sick.

3. Taking care of children with shingles treatment

Children who are suffering from shingles, in addition to having the right treatment plan for shingles in children, they also need to be taken care of carefully to avoid spreading to the whole body and spreading to other people, the process of caring for children for treatment. Shingles need to:
Use medicine as directed by the doctor, not arbitrarily buy medicine and treat the child at home. Always keep the injured area of ​​the baby's skin dry and clean. Dress your child in loose clothing to avoid bumping the blisters and causing them to burst. Apply cold towels and ice to relieve pain. Keep your child away from school or avoid people when the blisters are oozing pus. Do not cover the blisters and do not arbitrarily use skin creams without the consent of the doctor. There's no way to prevent shingles in children, but you can help reduce your risk of getting it by getting the chickenpox vaccine and not sharing toys and objects with people who have chickenpox or shingles. At the same time, build a scientific and healthy diet to help strengthen the child's resistance and immunity to fight the virus that causes the disease.

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