When Will Facial Herpes Heal?

When will facial herpes heal? That pesky herpes virus just won’t seem to go away! The good news is that Herpes simplex 1 heals on its own in about two weeks. But if you have HSV-2, then you’re stuck with it for life and will need to work on managing the symptoms. Luckily there are many things you can do to reduce the severity of outbreaks, like taking antiviral medication or using lysine supplements.

How Do You Get Diagnosis With Facial Herpes?

The first thing a doctor will do during a facial herpes diagnosis is to take a sample from the blister or sore. This sample will be sent to a lab for testing, which can take several days. If the results are positive, they’ll give you medication right away. If it looks like you don’t have HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection, they’ll send your sample to another lab. The turnaround time for this second test is usually within three business days.

The biggest risk you face with facial herpes is spreading the virus. Antiviral medications have been shown to be more effective than lysine supplements in reducing outbreaks. Studies indicate that valacyclovir, acyclovir, and famciclovir are all effective for shortening facial herpes outbreaks. If used consistently, these medications can reduce viral shedding by up to 1/3 and the outbreak length by about 1 day.

Moreover, about one-third of people infected with HSV-1 will never develop any signs or symptoms. If you’re somewhere in the middle, you’ll likely experience an outbreak every few weeks. Of course, this can vary from person to person, but as a general rule, herpes first appears on the face about six days after someone has been infected, and by day 18 or 19 sores may start appearing around your mouth.

Facial Herpes Treatments

There are several treatments available to help manage the pain and swelling of an outbreak. On average, treatment can shorten an outbreak by up to four days by decreasing the duration of viral shedding and decreasing the number of sores.

If you have an antiviral medication prescription, it will likely start working within 12 hours after taking it. However, you may notice some side effects if you take valacyclovir daily for more than three weeks.

An Alternative Treatment – The Viral Inhibitor

The Viral Inhibitor can be an effective option to treat facial herpes. It is a non-invasive, pain-free, and drug-free device to help prevent facial herpes outbreaks. The Viral Inhibitor works by sending low voltage, electrical signals which destroy the protein barrier of the facial herpes virus. Simply apply it for 20 seconds once per hour for 6 hours for the best results.