Shingles scars on face - any remedies that have worked for you?

Hi Nancy,

Here are some ideas for you.

1. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, cut down on calories, fatty foods and carbs. The more nutritional and anti-oxidant value your food has the better your body can heal.

2. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Filtered water is best. Coffee, alcohol and soda will not help. A glass of wine is said to be good for health but only one a day. Green tea and herbal tea has a lot of beneficial health giving properties and anti-oxidants. However nothing is better than plenty of fresh, pure water.

3. Get some regular, light exercise Regular light exercise will get the heart pumping the blood around the body, cleaning out the old toxins and refreshing the wound site with new, fresh blood. This will bring a steady supply of nutrients and oxygen to allow for the tissue to rebuild more effectively.

4. Stop smoking. Smoking directly affects our ability to carry oxygen around the body, especially to the extremities. Tobacco smoke causes blood cells to be occupied by carbon monoxide (a deadly poison) and therefore cannot carry oxygen around the body as needed. This makes the body work much harder for less results. If you are a smoker then take your pulse before and after a cigarette and you will see that your heart rate goes up, this is partly because the body is having to work harder to process the toxins and get the oxygen around the body as needed.

4. Get plenty of fresh air, but wear a hat. You need a good steady supply of oxygen to the affected area to fight infection and to heal the wound successfully. Some sources say that up to 70% of toxins are removed from our body through the lungs. Taking this into account ensuring that you get enough oxygen into your system could well be the most important thing to do in assisting your bodies awesome healing ability.

5. Gentle massage will stimulate the area to create a flow of fresh blood (and therefore nutrients and oxygen) whilst flushing away the old, toxic waste matter such as dead cells.

11. Apply some kind of cream of lotion to the area. There are many things that will work to help a wound heal and reduce scarring including:

Raw Honey

One of the most traditional methods is to apply honey to the wound. Raw honey still has all the live enzymes and is said to be a wonderful antiseptic as well as a healing agent. Honey can be used directly on the wound when it is still healing but make sure to consult your doctor before you do this. In 2006 review of over 20 clinical trials which involved over 2000 subjects showed that honey stimulated the growth of new tissue and had anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter

Both of these are natural oils that come from the seeds of a tree. They are thick and waxy in their natural form and have been used as a skin softener, moisturizer and treatment for dry and cracked skin by indigenous people for centuries. They are available in may creams, lotions and ointments but it is recommend getting the pure form if you can and rubbing it into the newly formed scar several times a day.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a very powerful moisturizer and has anti-inflammatory properties which may help reduce the swelling and redness of the scar. It has the ability to penetrate deeply into the skin, repair damaged cells, protect newer cells and increase the amount of collagen produced. Aloe Vera has also been highly regarded as a treatment for burns.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E has long been thought to help in the healing and reduction of scars however a recent study showed that it appears to have no effect and in up to 30% of cases causes contact dermatitis. Vitamin E is essential in the body and is a powerful anti-oxidant that can slow aging, protect the arteries, reduce bad cholesterol and helps combat heart disease. Although it has not been proven to directly reduce scarring when applied topically to the area it should certainly help the body through the healing process if taken orally as a daily supplement.

I use Raw Honey and Extra Virgin Olive Oil on my face and hair for severe eczema. I use Pure Vitamin E Oil and Aloe Vera there ,as well. I also used all four for my radiation dermatitis when I had breast cancer treatment. You want to avoid the sun, BTW, as that will increase the scarring. Give it tincture of time, some soothing moisture- whichever feels best for you, and the redness will decrease over time.Don't let the scars get really dry. Soothing moisture will allow for better healing. It probably doesn't matter what you use, as long as you keep it moist. Studies have shown equal results with petroleum jelly and any of these, but moisture is superior to dry skin.

Best Wishes

Merry Juliana

Honey and olive oil (EVOL) have been a treat for my parched scalp and face. Vitamin E is very moisturizing, as well, as an after treatment. I buy liquid Vitamin E at the pharmacy in a bottle in-between Vitamins D and K!

Somehow, raw honey has antibacterial properties, but also leaves your face dewey fresh and soft.

I use it as a facial treatment. I moisten my face with warm water, apply a little EVOL, then stroke on the honey. I often heat it to tepid if I put it on my scalp. Don't heat it for your face. I relax in the tub for about 10-15 minutes before I wash my hair and face.

I have very sensitive skin, and this has helped.

Merry Juliana

Hi Nancy. So sorry you are hurting. Yes, to have them on your face, it's a double shot of bad. As for the scarring, one of the first things I learned early on was prevention. There are topical you can put on your skin to lighten scars but there's also things you can do before they scar.

First....DON'T make it mad. Sounds funny, i know.

Before the blisters appear and you are just seeing the redness, start then to keep your face cool and NOT irritated. Compresses help alot. For some people, cold helps. For others, It's a warm pack. Start with cold. Try to keep your face from getting overheated outside but also keep your hair pulled away to keep the irritation down.

*Relieve the pain quickly. Don't let yourself hurt any longer than you have to. Use topical lidocaine. Keep it close by and use often. Just like shingles reacts to stress, shingles ALSO reacts to pain. Keeping the pain down WILL help lessen the blisters. When the blisters do arrive, treat them gently and try NOT to break them.

If you are having recurring shingles, you can ask to be put on a daily low dose anti-viral, to keep the outbreaks down. Be vigilant and watch for any unexplained rashes elsewhere. Shingles can show up on another part of your body but most often the same side. Anti-virals can mask a virus, so just because it doesn't look or act like shingles, doesn't mean its not shingles. Have your doc check out ANY unexplained rash and take it seriously.

As you already know, Shingles has to run its course and there are no shortcuts but use good quality products after an outbreak. Many on here know alot of natural remedies and you can get loads of valuable tips on here. As for myself, I use all Neutrogena products to keep scarring down. Many over the counter products say "Dermotologist Tested" but look instead for products "Dermotologist Approved" or "Dermotologist Recommended". All of the Neutrogena products are and they are not too expensive.

Have you gotten the new shingles vaccine "Shingrix" yet? It was just approved this past January 2018. Has a whopping 97% success rate. Its a two-dose vaccine. I've had one dose. Going back in for my second dose tomorrow.

Again, check out some of the other posts on here for some natural remedies. You take care hon.

~Rhonda