A young girl with blisters on her forehead

Gloves and handwashing are key for caregivers

Individuals who have not had a confirmed varicella infection should avoid contact with those who have shingles unless a varicella zoster virus antibody is satisfactory and shows immunity.^6,7

Gloves should be worn when touching the lesions or infectious drainage, and hands should be washed after glove removal.^5-9

Patients with disseminated disease require hospitalization with airborne precautions, which include a negative air pressure room and ensuring that caregivers wear N95 respirators.

What put our patient at risk?

In the case of our young patient, low immunity may have played a role in her contracting HZO. She had a history of recurrent bacterial infections and suffered from generally poor health.

She was referred to an ophthalmologist, who did not find any dendritic corneal ulcer or other complications on weekly follow up. The patient was successfully managed with oral acyclovir 10 mg/kg/dose for 5 days, and she responded well to treatment. We also prescribed acyclovir eye ointment, and local wet compresses with good outcome.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr Shahbaz Janjua for his assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Correspondence
Amor Khachemoune, MD, CWS, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine, 530 First Avenue, Suite 7R, New York, NY 10016; amorkh@pol.net.