
L-lysine for cold sores WORKS! All my siblings get cold sores and around 10 years ago one of us discovered that L-Lysine 1000mg 3 x day as soon as you feel that tingle/pain and even AFTER one has erupted. Then reduce to 500 mg 3 x d for a few more days. By that time all should be well.
If one sore has emerged, then it goes away quickly - if it hasn't then the L-Lysine makes it go away fast.
I keep a bottle of it in my vehicle, as we know those suckers can strike at any time & don't wait until you have some on hand.
Reading through the posts, some take it daily. I heard you should ONLY take it when needed and prolonged use is not good for you, other posts say it can affect the liver-so be careful out there, do your research, and if confirmed, only take for a few days to a week.

2 drops of 99.9% DMSO with 2 drops of reverse osmosis water on a q-tip. Apply to cold sore area. With 1 application, mine was completely gone in 4-6 hours. It was applied within hours of the start of it.
Tea Tree Oil
Hi debra what is h202 and TTO? Not all of us are acronyn savvy...lol
EC: Hydrogen Peroxide and Tea Tree Oil.
Ear Wax

Ear wax 100% works and I'm so glad I found this remedy. The key is to get to it early and it will stop it from every getting visible. But even if you miss the early stages and wake up with one, ear wax still drastically cuts down how long its around. I find, now that I know this, the max a cold sore will be around for me is 48-72 hours and usually they aren't noticeable at all. The only unfortunate thing with this remedy is you're likely to not have/produce enough ear wax to apply ear wax multiple times.
L-Lysine and Vitamin C

I came up with the tingling feeling of a cold sore. There it was. on my upper lip. I took 4 grams Lysine per day + natural vitamin C 4000 mg per day and put some coconut oil on the blister. It stopped growing and tingling immediately and the blister began drying quickly. Now it is the 3rd day and only a wound remained.
Acetone

I have suffered with cold sores my whole life. After spending a day out in the sun, I could feel my lip starting to swell (you know the feeling). I frantically looked online to see if there was some new remedy out there. I discovered this site and saw so many good reviews about acetone I figured I'd give it a try. (I used to use BHT and lysine but that ceased to work for me.)
Miracle of miracles, the acetone worked! Several times of the day, I would press a q-tip dipped in 100% acetone onto the area until it stung and then removed it. The cold sore never even got to the tingle phase. By day two my lip was slightly swollen but only about a third of what it normally would have been. By day three it was 10% swollen with a simple scab that could be covered with lipstick. No blisters even. Unbelievable. A week later, the small scab is still there, but the sore is clearly receding to nothing.
Where has this been my whole life?! The acetone must just kill the virus! Thank you all for sharing your experience with this amazing remedy! So helpful.
Black Tea

Recently found that black tea gets rid of my coldsores.
I usually drink coffee but like to have tea sometimes.
I had a cold sore a few weeks ago and didn't have lemongrass that I usually use on them.
After having a few sips of black tea I realised the swelling feeling was gone.. so I put some directly on the sore. It basically stopped the progression of the coldsore and started healing.
I tried it again today after having another one pop up, it didn't disappoint and is healing.
Apparently the tannins in the tea kill off the coldsore virus.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt

You can use apple cider vinegar and salts. Like put it in a cup, add salt, take a cotton swab and dip it. Put it on your cold sore will disappear in days.
Acetone

My bottom lip was tingling all day. At the end of the day around 6pm, I looked in a zoom-in mirror and could see the horrendous 3 bumps forming. I immediately began applying acetone. I did this for 30 seconds-1 min at a time up every 20-30 minutes up until I went to bed around 10pm. I worked the next day and could still see the bumps, but they did not pop or grow. I went ahead and applied and applied nail polish remover in the morning before going to work and once in the afternoon. When I got home, I applied it again until I went to sleep multiple times. I kept a cotton pad with acetone on until it burned too much. On day 3, there was no longer a coldsore forming! I can't believe this actually worked :)
Dietary Recommendations
It doesn't matter if raw chocolate and almonds are healthy to eat or not, they are still high in L-Arginine, which is why eating them leads to a breakout. I don't usually get a cold sore just from eating these foods, but if I have a breakout, it gets bigger and lasts longer if I have them. That includes nut butters as well. Eating foods higher in L-Lysine and taking a Lysine supplement is the only thing that works for me.
Acetone

Last summer I had a beast of a cold sore. It was 6 in one!! I hadn't had one in about 15 years so it was very weird. Probably from vaccine shedding from other people.
For some reason I didn't think to check on here until about day 5. I tried acetone but the skin was already broken and it made it 10 times worse and left a scar too.
I think acetone must be used at the first signs and would be very effective but not once the skin has broken.
Kale

Cold Sores:
When one of these appears in the mouth - what has worked for me is eating a good quality raw kale greens - or take Lysine tablets. it works.
Acetone

I haven't gotten cold sore breakouts very often but have had them since I was a child. I've even gone years without an outbreak. When I would get one it would be mild and I'd combat it with Lysine and oil of oregenal both orally and topically. Usually they wouldn't even get to a blister with this treatment. However, I recently had a really large one come out on my bottom lip and it took forever to come down and heal. What a pain! The area is still slightly raw and sensitive. Over the long weekend of the 4th of July I got a lot of sun and didn't drink enough water, drank alcohol and got totally dehydrated. I felt my lip burning. I woke up with 3 huge ones on my bottom lip coming up into blisters!!!
Panicking I scoured the internet and saw Cheri's post from 2021. I tried it and put acetone on each one with a q-tip for about 20 seconds each and 1 DAY LATER they had all scabbed over!!
This would have been at least a week or more without this remedy! Thank you!!
Ketchup

I usually get the big cold sores that make your lip look like a balloon. It sucks. I was eating spaghetti and noticed the sauce made my lip fill better. Did a search about tomato sauce and herpes to see if there was others who tried or used it. Came across a video that said to use ketchup. It was a boring video but decided to try it...Ole family recipe or something. Anyways grabbed some ketchup and put it on my lips. Guess I know what lipstick feels like. I don't know. I put a lot of ketchup on and just started watching a movie. It tingled a little, more uncomfortable I guess. But I left it on and after about 44 minutes I could feel a cluster in the back of my jaw get zapped. Not really sure how else to explain it. Provided relied though. Provided relief for the swollen lip too. Felt like it was working and decided to put a fresh batch and leave it on all night.
Woke up the next morning and it wasn't swollen anymore. Already formed scabs and started healing. Few days later my lip was back to normal. For the healing, I put Abreva on. I typically get blisters from the sun. Haven't had any in a couple months. Might be my new go to as Apple Cider Vinegar sucks. Ketchup is everywhere! Won't hurt to try. Says to use it at the tingle stage to prevent them too.
Hydrogen Peroxide and DMSO
What exactly is the protocol? Do I apply HP then DMSO topically or are they to be taken internally? Thanks
Lysine, Vitamin C and Coconut Oil
I heard magnesium oil spray does the trick But I have not had one to try it. When I have I have used aloe, aloe by cutting a square off and placing on lip sit 15 minutes and it will Usually stick for the rest of the day until it's gone. It will take me three days with aloe. Also lysine. I was drinking a lot of black tea and I heard black tea blocks lysine in our bodies and so I would get them more often or more easily prone to getting them.
Acetone
Hydrogen Peroxide and DMSO
Hello, my name is Elton from, Lucas do Rio Verde - MT, Brazil I also use hydrogen peroxide with DMSO, I didn't get a cure, mine is genital herpes, but I won't give up the treatment because I know I need to have more discipline to achieve the result.
Lemongrass

Fresh lemongrass has stopped my cold sores in their tracks. If you get to it on the tingle and before it blisters it will knock it out and won't get the chance to blister.
Get a fresh lemongrass stalk, peel one of the layers off and use a spoon..I usually have the spoon up right while I scrape the inside lemongrass layer using my thumb to hold it down and get the juice on the spoon that way.. then put it on the cold sore with my finger...
The 1st couple of times I just put the layer on a plate and used the spoon and pressed it down to get the juice on the back of the spoon and used the spoon directly on the cold sore so I didn't have to wash my hands after.. or fold the layer in half and use the juices that produce at the fold directly to the cold sore..
1st time I used it, it was at the tingle stage.. within the hour of it tingling I applied the lemongrass juice just the once and the tingle stopped instantly. It was around midday/ early afternoon that I applied it.
The next morning I felt the tingle again.. I could see slight redness however no blister so I quickly put some more on and immediately stopped tingling and started healing after that.. no blister. No more applying. It just didn't progress into a cold sore and it healed from that point on.
2nd time it had just started to rise and was about to form a blister. I had no lemongrass on hand so went to the shops and grabbed some.I applied it that afternoon and before bed. The next day no tingling and it was healing. I didn't need to apply anymore.
So it would seem that 2 applications are necessary.
4th or 5th time I had kept the lemongrass in the freezer.. to my dismay, it did not work. It took the tingle out a little which I felt I needed to keep applying it.. soo I did all day and the next day.. but it continued into a blister.. I got some fresh lemongrass the next day and it worked. Immediately stopping its progress.
So the lemongrass has to be fresh.
I've tried all the creams.. they aren't really great.. at 1st they helped the itchiness etc but never stopped the blisters...and after a while don't do anything at all..
I've tried peppermint extract.. as I had read good things.. but this didn't help really.. made it less itchy but didn't help the blisters.. same as toothpaste.. it stops the itch but it burns the skin and makes the area bigger.
Lemongrass by far is the best thing I've tried. Knocks it out.
Bleach
OR......you could use good ole nail polish remover to get the same results! Seems alot safer to me, too. I use it all the time; it works.
Bleach

I do this as well. In fact I started feeling the tingle around 2 this morning. Dabbed a cotton swab with bleach before I went to bed and held it on the very tip of each blister (there were 3 starting) for about 30 seconds each. Did it again around noon (when I woke up) and now it is just after 6pm and all that's left is a tiny mark from the slightly bigger blister and the other 2 are completely gone.
I just make sure I'm SUPER careful about allowing the tip of the swab to touch ONLY the blister so the skin around it doesn't burn.
Acetone
Does acetone make them stay away? Just wondering because I use selenium (selenomethionine) and I don't get cold sores any more. I take 1 200mcg capsule a day although I started by taking 2 200mcg capsules a day for about 10 months.
L-Lysine

Found this website looking for flea remedies and found so much more! I too am always looking for remedies other than what are mainstream, just because it seems to me there has got to be more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak!
Read about Vitamin D deficincy in The Star Tribune by a doctor at the U of MN who discovered how many people suffer from a lack of it. Of course, I am a blue eyed blond who frys like a lobster in the sun and can't remember when the last time was that I went outdoors without sunscreen and and hat so I began taking a D supplement right away. I take 2000 IU of vitamin D daily. I have to say that I feel pretty darn good considering I have arthritis in all the major joints of my body.
I also have been using lysine to take care of my Herpes simplex outbreaks for years and would not be without it. I find that if I take 4-6 500 mg tablets at the first sign of the itch/tingle on my lip, and then 2 tablets every couple of hours after that, I can most times, stop it in its tracks and completely skip and signs of the break out. If I am nowhere near my supply of lysine and I get those symptoms, taking it at first opportunity causes the leisons to heal very rapidly. In any case, it works for me.
Am going to try the apple cider vinegar thing as well, for arthritis and for the flea problem. Weird that it will be for 2 such unrelated problems but If it works, who cares. It is certainly safe enough. Thanks for being here as a sounding board and gathering of natural remedies.
General Feedback
nope, that would never been an overdose. I have taken lugols 5% doses for 7 years ranging from 8 drops to 20-40 without issues besides some herx symptoms from detox.
The minimum amount for maintenance is 8 drops = 50mg, but often doses of 16 drops = 100mg is recommended because we are fully loaded on bromine/bromides, fluorides and toxins that will take a long time to clear before iodine/iodide can enter it receptors and works on sufficiency, doctors in the past have gave 200mg-3grams of iodine for serious conditions like syphilis and dangerous infections. IT cant be overdosing in that range, our body holds 2.5grams of iodine/iodide content when sufficient.
So any info that tells you to take 2-3 drops is a lie. People taking 2-3 drops will take 3-4 years to detox all bromides and fluorides to get into the sufficiency. Reminding you that we are exposed to fluoride and mostly bromine/bromide on a daily basis, as lots of products we have are loaded on bromine/bromide fire retardants, so you could never reach the full benefit of iodine in that dose.
I take 100mg =16 drops now for months this year, and I feel really good.
DMSO

Apply dmso at first sign of cold sore it will shrink and prevent it even becoming an open blister within 10-15 mins