THIS Morning star Holly Willoughby recently revealed she wouldn’t be returning to the programme this week due to shingles.
The ITV show host had previously taken time off the show for Easter, and said she wouldn’t be returning this week as planned after contracting the painful infection.
Holly Willoughby shared she was was battling shingles, promising to return to This Morning as soon as she recovered
Holly shared she was battling shingles a message to viewers that was shared by the official This Morning social media accounts.
It read: “Hi… Just to let you know I may be away for the rest of the week as I have Shingles.
“I’ll be back as soon as I’m better. Huge Love, Holly xxx.”
Shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash on your skin, which tends to affect just one side of your body.
If you have the infection, you might:
have a tingling or painful feeling in an area of your skinhave a headache feel generally unwell get a blistery rash
The rash won’t appear until a few days after those first symptoms, usually appearing on your chest or tummy.
But the blotchy and blistery rash can crop up anywhere on your body, including your face, eyes and genitals.
A rash that’s on both the left and right side of your body is unlikely to be shingles, according to NHS guidance.
The blotchy rash might erupt in itchy blisters that ooze fluid, but these tend to dry out and scab after a few days.
The redness can be harder to spot on brown and black skin.
If it appears around your eye, it can make it sore and red and make it harder to move one side of your face. Your eyesight or hearing could also be affected.
Your rash could take up to four weeks to heal, and your skin could remain painful even after its gone.
It usually does get better over time, NHS guidance said.
How to treat shingles at home
There a few things you can do to treat the painful rash at home, according to NHS guidance:
have paracetamol for pain relief
keep you rash clean and dry – this will reduce the risk of infection
wear loose-fitting clothing
use a cool compress a few times a day – this can be a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel or a wet cloth
But you shouldn’t:
let dressings or plasters stick to your rash
use antibiotic cream – this will slow down the healing process
It’s important to contact NHS 111 as soon as you suspect you might have shingles – they can advise you on what medicine to take to speed up your recovery and avoid longer-lasting symptoms.
The NHS says it can’t be passed to others, though people who have not had chickenpox before could catch it from a shingles sufferer.
Shingles is actually caused by the chickenpox virus, so it’s important to stay away from people who have not had chickenpox before to avoid giving it to them.
Chickenpox lingers in the body after you’ve had it and the virus can be reactivated by stress, certain conditions or treatments like chemotherapy, coming back as shingles.
If you have shingles, try to also avoid coming into contact with:
pregnant people who have not had chickenpox beforepeople with a weakened immune system, like someone having chemotherapybabies less than a month old, unless you gave birth to them, as your baby should be protected from the virus by your immune system
Scientists in the US found that developing shingles leaves people with an elevated risk of a heart attack for up to 12 or more years after the rash first appears.
Former Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan was diagnosed with the ‘pretty uncomfortable’ condition in April last year, after being rushed to the doctors when he came back from holiday.