★★★★★
I get shingles or facial herpes on my cheeks and chin.
I do not get it on my lips but either next to my eyes or around my nose or below my lips. The doctors have never determined which form of herpes it is. Valtrex has not helped.
Two things have really helped me. I want to share them with people so they can hopefully really improve this painful and unpleasant condition keeping the suffering to a minimum and the scars to next to nothing. The aloe vera also works for boils so I am going to post there too.
I am so grateful for having found these amazing solutions.
Acetone for the early stages, if you feel a tingling and you manage to get it on soon enough, it can stop the sore(s) dead in its tracks. I find putting it on an ear-bud (Q-tip) and applying every hour or so, is the best. Then overnight put a glob of Abreva cream on the sore(s) and by morning it is gone or on its way out.
If the sore does develop I find Fresh Aloe Vera straight from the plant is the most amazing thing for drying it up. I often end up popping the blisters, as I find the swelling so painful. Once the sore(s) is gross and oozing you want to dry it up as fast as possible, avoid wetting the sore or taking long showers and baths.
You should apply fresh aloe vera- the juicy part- straight from the plant every half an hour or so until the sore turns into a scab and then keep on applying as often as you can. Only fresh aloe vera from the plant works, I have tried the bottled stuff and it just does not work the same. I always have an aloe vera plant in the house for these needs and have been known when travelling to bring parts of leaves with me in a ziplock bag!
The best thing is to slice a small amount off the plant and keep it in the bathroom and just keep on applying the juicy liquid as often as you can. Eventually you'll need a fresh piece as the juicy part will dry out.
I have found I can 'cure' a sore in 3 days if I am lucky, with only a minor red mark at the end that is easy to cover with concealer. Usually on the 3rd day of applying the aloe vera the scab is so tight and dry it easily falls off or peels off. I advise you: do NOT pull it off if it is still stuck on too tight or shows no signs of peeling off as you will have a scar and the sore may not be healed properly underneath yet. If this is the case just keep on applying aloe vera until the sore is completely dried out and has no bump underneath or swelling at all. The aloe vera really stops inflammation as well as drying out the sore.
If you are sure the sore is really dead and dried out and all scabbed up, another thing that helps the healing is to apply -only when you are 100% sure it is all dried up! Or else you will reactive it- some neosporin. This will help humidify the skin underneath so it heals nicely without leaving a big scar.
Aloe vera, straight from mother nature, from the fresh plant is heaven sent and I thank beautiful nature and mother earth for giving us this wonderful miracle!
I really advise you try this; I have tried everything over the course of 4 years of suffering from these sores now, baking soda, salt, vinegar, various creams, lotions, to dry out a sore but nothing works like fresh aloe vera.
I have not yet found a preventative measure yet despite trying nearly all the remedies suggested here but when I do I will post about it.
