Heart failure, kidney failure due to painkiller abuse

86 year old male patient at Binh Duong Had shingles a year ago. Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a skin infection caused by the Varicella zoster virus.

Doctors advise against taking medication without a prescription, especially for people over 60 years old, people taking anticoagulants or being treated for heart disease, kidney disease, or chronic diseases.

This virus also causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus can lie dormant in the body and reactivate years later, causing shingles. The most common symptoms of this disease are small, clustered blisters on the skin accompanied by pain, burning, and itching.

In healthy people, the disease resolves itself within 2-4 weeks and symptoms will gradually disappear after a while. However, in older people such as male patients or those with weakened immune systems, painful manifestations can persist for many years afterwards.

The patient was often tormented by dull pain, causing him to lose sleep, lose his appetite, and feel tired all the time. Whenever the pain appeared, he had to use painkillers.

Three days after admission, the patient had more pain, unexplained fever, and leg swelling. He thought the shingles symptoms had returned, so he continued to inject painkillers. After three days, the situation did not improve, so he was taken to the emergency room.

Master, Doctor, CKII Huynh Thanh Kieu, Head of Cardiology Department 1, Cardiovascular Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the patient was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, lethargy, swelling in both legs and body aches. Paraclinical examination showed heart failure, kidney failure, blood clotting disorder, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Taking the patient's medical history, the doctor discovered that the patient had mechanical heart valve replacement surgery 10 years ago and had to take anticoagulants for life.

Doctor Kieu explained that using anticoagulants and painkillers at the same time causes blood clotting disorders, increasing the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding leading to blood loss.

In addition, patients who abuse high doses of painkillers for a long time cause kidney function to decline. At this time, the condition of fluid retention in the body becomes serious, making it difficult for the heart to contract, leading to heart failure.

To prevent the risk of shingles and limit the progression of shingles in the future, everyone should be vaccinated against chickenpox and shingles.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) recommend vaccination for people over 50 years of age and people 18 years of age and older with immunodeficiency diseases (cancer, chronic diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune diseases, use of immunosuppressive drugs).

At the same time, it is necessary to limit close contact with people infected with shingles, especially during the period when blisters begin to appear on the body; maintain a healthy lifestyle and get adequate rest; avoid prolonged stress and tension; exercise. nutrition, increase resistance.

Regarding the use of painkillers, Dr. Kieu advises against taking medication without a doctor's prescription, especially for people over 60 years old, people taking anticoagulants or being treated for heart disease, kidney disease, or chronic diseases.

In addition, you must always monitor your health during and after taking the medicine. If any unusual symptoms appear, you should see a doctor immediately for timely support and treatment.