My Husband Has Shingles And I’m Really Worried About Him.

Posted on Sun, 2 Dec 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 2 Dec 2018 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : My husband has shingles and I’m really worried about him. He has this throbbing headache that he says runs all through his forehead. It bothers him much more than the rash. Bothers him like he has laid in the dark all day and barely moved. Is this normal? Should I make him go to the emergency room to be checked out? He also has a small fever 100.7. But his rash looks fine. Not like it might be infected or something. Please help!

Answered by Dr. Asmeet Kaur Sawhney (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Needs to take antivirals & pain relievers, take him to emergency

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to ask a doctor service
I have gone through your query.
Shingles is associated with severe pain, burning and rash.
He needs to take antiviral medicines along with pain relievers.
Otherwise the pain will persist for a long time.
If I was your treating doctor I would recommend you to take tablet valciclovir 1 gram thrice daily for 7 days along with tablet tramadol 50 mg twice daily for 7-10 days.
These are prescription drugs and you need to see the doctor in person to get them.
I would recommend you to take him to emergency room and start the treatment as soon as possible.
I hope to have answered your query and would be happy to answer any further queries.
Regards
Dr Asmeet

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng