{"doi":"10.12968/bjha.2019.13.1.20","title":"Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of shingles: the role of the healthcare assistant","abstract":"<jats:p> Herpes zoster (shingles) infection causes a painful, blistering rash; it is more common in older people. It affects 3.5 per 1000 person-years among 50–54-year-olds to 7.1 per 1000 person-years among 75–79-year-olds ( Gauthier et al, 2009 ). Around 40% of people infected experience ongoing nerve pain lasting three months or longer and one person in 1000 over the age of 70 dies as a result of infection ( NHS UK, 2018 ). </jats:p><jats:p> People who are at greatest risk of infection can now be immunised. Immunisation can reduce the risks of shingles by 75% ( Green Book, 2018 ). </jats:p><jats:p> Shingles is caused by a virus: early identification and prompt treatment with antiviral drugs reduces symptoms and leads to reduced risk of ongoing nerve pain. </jats:p><jats:p> This article explains how older people are at an increased risk of shingles and its complications. It aims to enable readers to recognise the clinical features of shingles, be aware of treatments, infection control procedures and how vaccination can protect older people from this distressing condition. </jats:p>","journal":"British Journal of Healthcare Assistants","year":2019,"id":626513,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1620649,"name":"Linda Nazarko","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of shingles: the role of the healthcare assistant","abstract":"<jats:p> Herpes zoster (shingles) infection causes a painful, blistering rash; it is more common in older people. It affects 3.5 per 1000 person-years among 50–54-year-olds to 7.1 per 1000 person-years among 75–79-year-olds ( Gauthier et al, 2009 ). Around 40% of people infected experience ongoing nerve pain lasting three months or longer and one person in 1000 over the age of 70 dies as a result of infection ( NHS UK, 2018 ). </jats:p><jats:p> People who are at greatest risk of infection can now be immunised. Immunisation can reduce the risks of shingles by 75% ( Green Book, 2018 ). </jats:p><jats:p> Shingles is caused by a virus: early identification and prompt treatment with antiviral drugs reduces symptoms and leads to reduced risk of ongoing nerve pain. </jats:p><jats:p> This article explains how older people are at an increased risk of shingles and its complications. It aims to enable readers to recognise the clinical features of shingles, be aware of treatments, infection control procedures and how vaccination can protect older people from this distressing condition. </jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"19767382","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2909635471","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":0.0,"citation_percentile":0.00463183,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[],"oa_status":"closed","license":null,"oa_locations":[{"url":"http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/pdf/10.12968/bjha.2019.13.1.20","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.12968/bjha.2019.13.1.20","host_type":"journal"}],"fields_of_study":["Herpesvirus Infections and Treatments","Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects","Bartonella species infections research"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Shingles","Medicine","Rash","Pediatrics","Surgery","Virus","Virology"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Good health and well-being"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-04T14:10:19.960161Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}