In Shingles- Perioral and intraoral characteristics: Herpes zoster may have limited appearances orally or may have more of an aphthous stomatitis appearance as well. This can be confusing to the clinician when the midline skin rash is not well–defined . Dental implications: The trigeminal nerve is affected and can sometimes cause odontalgia (toothache). Sometimes patients may seek treatment for oral pain before any obvious signs of vesicles occur, thus making a diagnosis difficult. Since the sensory nerves go into the pulp that has trigeminal nerve endings, tooth pain may be one of the symptoms. If the patient has minimal rash–like symptoms, but complains of pain, endodontic treatment or extraction could occur because the clinician may believe pulpal necrosis is responsible. One rare and serious complication of herpes zoster is spontaneous tooth exfoliation and necrosis of the mandible. Patients who are immunocompromised, pregnant women, neonates, cancer patients, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients, and those taking immunosuppressant medications are at high risk for contagion. Dental offices should take this into consideration before performing routine treatment on patients with shingles. Treatment and prognosis: The infected person is in a contagious state from two days before the appearance of a rash, and remains contagious until all lesions are crusted with no detectable drainage. We do know that in the case of herpes simplex virus, viral shedding occurs even when a visible lesion is not present. This may be possible with herpes zoster as well. Antiviral drug therapy is administered and must be started immediately to counter the virus (within the first 48 hours is optimal). Acyclovir (Zovirax), valacyclovir (Valtrex) or famciclovir (Famvir) are commonly prescribed, and most patients will take the antiviral medication even after 48 hours in hopes of the medication having at least some effect on the virus, but with no guarantees. Oral lesions are treated with soothing mouth rinses and/or topical anesthetics. Pain medications and Benadryl are usually prescribed as well. A new vaccine, Zostavax®, approved in 2006 by the FDA, is recommended for those patients at risk and over 60 years of age. It is not recommended for those over 80 years of age, those allergic to gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin, or those intending a pregnancy (because of possible damage to the fetus) within a three–month period of taking the vaccine. The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women, those with immune system problems, cancer patients, or those receiving treatment for cancer such as leukemia or lymphoma. Patients with active tuberculosis, those receiving radiation or chemotherapy, or someone with an elevated temperature should not receive the vaccine. About antibiotics that can cause Gingival Swelling or oral manifestations, the vaious drugs that can cause Gingival nodules are- Different drugs known to predispose to gingival enlargements Anticonvulsants[15,16] Immunosuppressants[17] Calcium channel blockers[15] Examples of individual drugs- Phenytoin Vigabatrin Cyclosporine Nifidipine Ethotoin Ethosuximide Tacrolimus Diltiazem Mephenytoin Topiramate Sirolimus Felodipine Phenobarbital Pyrimidinone Nitrendipine Lamotrigine Verapamil Amlodipine So as you can see there are few antibiotics in the above list. The diagnosis if at all it was missed in the first place could have been a simple boil or Carbuncle that is the infection of the hair follicle inside the nasal cavity. If she is having the side effects of the antivirals as you wrote, stop all of them for a day[drug holliday] and try to give tab Augmentin 375 mg three times a day alongwith Mupirocin intranasal ointment. I think this will solve the problem. If not then you have to see a good dental surgeon to know the cause and treatment of Gingival [Gum] swlling. Hope that helps.