glorious day yesterday… although the air was chill… made me feel good just to be outdoors…
sunshine again today and for the next few days… yippee
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It’s all right for some. Gloomy grey skies and persistent drizzle in Normandy, Stella 
Oh dear, Peter… take a trundle … the sun is there… somewhere…
Sniff, snivel…
I’m self-isolating (more or less) as I’ve had le nez qui coule and bouts of occasional sneezing since before Christmas, Stella.
I sometimes worry that the germ-police will track me down as the primary source of infection in the hexagon, and exile me to Chausey, à small island archpelago 17km off the Normandy coast.
No WiFi there, I reckon. Adieu !
runny noses seem to be the norme, every winter, hereabouts… (along with glossy coats and bright eyes 
_
a neighbour has gone down with shingles… now that doesn’t sound much fun, especially at her great age (83)… what is your advice ???
Fabulous song… Sunny here 
I’m loth to offer advice, not knowing the individual concerned Stella, but if a course of oral antivirals is commenced early in the onset of the illness it can reduce its intensity and perhaps the development of lasting after-effects. Pain relief is also needed, as prescribed by the doctor. I found that calamine lotion dabbed on the rash can soothe and sometimes protect the very sore and sensitive skin, but that depends on the location of the rash.
If the eye is involved an ophthalmologist is necessarily involved without delay, to save sight which can be seriously at risk.
Herpes Zoster is a debilitating condition so general physical and psychological support are important too, not unusually over months and even years.
I don’t (at 82 myself) consider 83 a “great age” and don’t like such attributions. As you often point out, age is just a number and shouldn’t be fetishised or regarded as a personal achievement. It’s just random chance how long we live, and suggesting it’s something over which we have control is IMO just nonsense, and sentimental nonsense to boot.
I know I no longer feel physically as I felt aged 21 when the way I felt then was wholly taken for granted. Now I’m more conscious of some physical limitations and vulnerabilities. But mentally I feel stronger, more reflective and more resilient than ever. You too, it seems 
Ha ha… Peter… I was being cheeky… indeed, 83 is no great age… depending on the person. 
one neighbour insists on remarking on her age, as if to say… aren’t I doing well… (OK she is now in her 90’s but she’s been saying it for the last 20 years… 
.)
as we all know… age is only a number…
I’m a permanent 35 in my head… 
but I note that 70 year old folk are now being classed as “at risk”… so the age-group is moving downwards… 
Shorts on today, first time this year 
. Don’t know why, but OH says I can’t go to the shops looking like that…
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I am am 83, but had shingles a few years back when I were still a lad in my 70s!
It is very unpleasant and can result in continued discomfort for many years. But at our age a bit of discomfort can be a reassuring sign of still being alive!
The best advice I can give, on the basis of my own experience, is to avoid taking painkillers if possible and wash with Savon de Marseilles rather than detergent based products.
If I had recognized the early symptoms, I might have benefited from antivirals, but by the time I got around to seeing the doctor it was too late.
There are now vaccines that are suitable for over 50s that can prevent or reduce the extent of the attack. Not sure if it is available here but I would rather have been offered that than the flu jabs that I never bother with.
Tell your neighbor to stay strong and that she has my sympathy.
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I had shingles around my ribs when I was 24 and living in Belgium thanks to spending Christmas with my little chickenpoxy cousins - my dr sent me to a physio who ran alternating current along the nerve and zapped the herpes zoster. It wasn’t particularly sore, occasionally like sharp long pinpricks, mainly itchy. The current seemed to kill it quite well.
I didn’t react fast because it never crossed my mind it could be shingles, I thought it must be flea bites from one of my aunt’s dogs (I’d never seen a flea bite either in spite of growing up with dogs cats horses rabbits gerbils etc).
A friend of mine got shingles in his late thirties from his chickenpoxy children and again never imagined that’s what it could be. I don’t know what treatment he had for it.