Facial Herpes

Can you believe that you can have facial herpes? Well I didn't believe it until it happened to me this summer. Imagine, just last summer I was battling scabies, which of course was much harder to get rid of.

This summer I am battling a form of herpes on my face.

On Monday, I had a red bump on my forehead. Instinctively I thought it was a pimple as pimples are common on my oily prone skin. A day later, the bump started to get some white puss, of course, pimple like symptoms again. However, towards the end of the day I noticed that there were way too many bumps concentrated in one area and it seemed to be spreading in the immediate area around it. I finally realized that as I was cleansing my face, as I normally do at the end of the day, I was spreading this bacteria around.

I also felt a tingling sensation all over the right half of my face and then, I felt a small little, tender if touched, bump right under my right ear. I thought, "are these two things related?" At first my husband said that it was being caused by the new homeopathic pills I was taking. I didn't think that was true, but what if it was.

Day 3: No Insurance, Pimple and Bump Enlarging

By Wednesday, I was getting worried. The bump under my ear was getting larger and was beginning to affect my speech and was sending a piercing, shock to the top of my head. Not only that, but the bump on my forehead was unmanageable, unbearable, and grotesque. I covered my head with my hair. I felt ugly and still had to go to work.

That was it. Thursday, I just had to see a Dr. I didn't care how much I would have to pay out of pocket, with now health insurance coverage. By this day, my mouth could hardly open to eat and my the bump on my forehead was now reaching the top of my eyebrows. Mann! this thing is quite aggressive.

My husband was now saying that I had herpes after he researched on the internet. But, how? Hearing those words made me cringe. I know I'm not promiscuous. He's the only man I'm currently sleeping with. He made me feel as if I was doing something behind his back.

HMSA's Online Care To the Rescue

I was disgusted with my pain, gross forehead and expensive office visits. I remembered watching a commercial about HMSA's online care program. You can connect with a Dr. from the comfort of your home. I decided to check it out since it was $40 per 10 minute consultation. What the heck could I loose, especially if I was saving myself $300 doctor visit and waiting in line with other sick people.

I connected immediately with a Dr. The down side to this technology is:1- They don't give new users a chance to test their system and therefore waste 5 of the 10 paid minutes on figuring out technology problems.

2- The Dr. could hardly see the bump on my face due to inadequate pixels on my computer camera.

3- The Dr. seemed irritated for having to wait for me to figure out my program.

4- Mis-Diagnosis can happen easier since he cannot really see or feel the problem.

The positives:

1- At home, in your pajamas consultation.2- You can speak to someone almost immediately if you are not having technical difficulties.3- More affordable than a $300 office visit.

The Dr. prescribed me an antibiotic for a bacterial infection and began my routine immediately.

The Verdict

So, did I really have herpes on my forehead. Yep, I was given two medications one for a bacterial infection, CEPHALEXIN, and the other, ACYCLOVIR, for the herpes virus infection.

I started taking the bacterial infection, first, by itself, because I was still in denial. But, it was not working to make the swelling of my glands go down, neither was the puss on my forehead going away.

However, as soon as I began taking the herpes viral infection medication, ACYCLOVIR, I began to feel it working within 12 hours.

As of right now, the bumps are not yet gone. It's only been one day. So, I'll let you know what happens within 5 days as prescribed by the Dr.

Go to my Facial Cold Sores Page for more information.