Posted by Anonymous (NC) on 09/20/2006
Oh my gosh! I thought my body was falling apart. I keep having outbreaks, this past month i've had 3. This was the first time in my LIFE. But when I just read the info on this site I realized that it's because of diet soda. I have been drinking diet soda everyday for the past month at work. Before that I had never had an outbreak. I will never drink another one. THANKS.
Posted by Anonymous (London) on 08/01/2006
i cannot believe what i have just read about Herpes outbreaks and Splenda. I have been on a diet for a few weeks and have been taking Splenda as a substitute for sugar. I have had the worst outbreak ever lasting 3 weeks!! Now that i know, i will cut out the Splenda. Throwing it out now.
Posted by SG (Bakersfield, CA) on 05/25/2006
It says on your website to let you know if I experienced a connection between aspartame and herpes sores. Here's my story: Sometime around 9 years ago, I started having pain around my genital area. There was never anything visible, or anything that seemed to trigger it. It was generally not painful unless I had sex. I went to doctor after doctor. Each one tested me for everything, and then told me I didn't have any STDs--that maybe it was an allergic reaction or some other skin problem. This went on for EIGHT YEARS. Last November, after moving to a different city and starting a diet, I developed incredibly painful sores, so bad that I couldn't walk. I went to the emergency room. The attendants took cultures and blood samples, and sent me home. When I got my little postcard in the mail, it said that the blood test was positive for herpes. HERPES!? It's been 9 years and this is the first diagnose-able outbreak? After that, I kept having painful outbreaks. All the time. And I couldn't figure out what the difference was between 8 years of almost completely dormant and Attack of the Evil Vicious Viruses. Tonight, I was researching into ways to ease a friend's Lupus symptoms and ran across this website, saying that there is a link between aspartame and herpes... LIGHT BULB!! THANK YOU!! The outbreaks started happening soon after I started our household on a health-conscious diet. We started with drinking only water, but eventually we started drinking "diet" energy drinks, containing... guess what? I'll keep ya posted.
Posted by Tara (Columbia MD) on 05/24/2006
I totally agree that aspartame can trigger outbreaks. I love yogurt which I eat daily. When I went on this website, I see where it says avoid aspartame. I usually don't have outbreaks often but since I have been eating yogurt I noticed more frequent outbreaks. I didn't know why these outcoming were coming back but now I see why.
Posted by Kay (NJ) on 04/02/2006
I have been dieting for 6 weeks now. I usually use organic sugar, but switched to Splenda. My outbreaks and constant prodrome were unbelievable. I normally get about 4-6 outbreaks a year. I must have had 4 in one month. After reading about Splenda and herpes, I can only conclude this is the reason.
Posted by Lyn (Orange City, FL) on 02/10/2006
i drink a lot of unsweetened tea and add sweet and low. i also drink a lot and i mean a lot of diet products and my outbreaks are one right after another. my doctors are stunned. i'm gonna try going without to see if it works. i will let you know!
Posted by Chanel (Des Plaines IL) on 02/07/2006
I am glad I came upon this website because I just started drinking the new diet cherry vanilla dr pepper and that morning felt my lip itching and it has been years since I have had a cold sore. I did not realize it was from this drink.
Posted by Walley (Spring Valley) on 01/22/2006
I recently started chewing sugarless gum because of a low carb diet. I experienced one of my worst herpes outbreaks in years around that same period, it may be related to
aspartame.
Posted by Angela (Portland, Maine) on 01/13/2006
I never drink diet sodas, or even soda in general, last night I had diet coke. I'm usually a more natural person. I've never had a cold sore in my life, overnight I developed a blood blister on my lip. I am very worried about it. I hope this is not a start to a very bad thing. I wish I would have known that these sweeteners do this before. Spread the word!
Posted by Mary (Chicago, IL) on 01/07/2006
Ok, yesterday I had lunch with a friend. I asked her to bring me a diet something. It was COKE or Pepsi. Later that evening around 8pm. I felt the sensation of an outbreak. This was not oral. I cannot believe what I have just read. Thank you for the information. I will never drink or eat anything containing a sugar substitute.
Posted by Teresa (Texas, USA) on 10/11/2021
★★★★★
I had not had a cold sore outbreak for it seems like years, but yesterday I chewed 1 stick of sugarfree gum and I have the biggest outbreak happening now....about 12 to 18 hours after exposure. I will definitely be more careful in the future.
Posted by Bill (Calgary, Alberta) on 11/27/2009
★★★★★
To shorten the duration and size of cold sores, use ASA. Put a tablet on a spoon, then a drop of water to make a paste. Put it on the sore (you will feel it tingle). The ASA will dry up. Just keep putting it on. It will reduce redness and shorten the out break quickly. I use this when at home and instead of going out with a big white mass on my lip, I just brush it off and the sores are almost invisible. I have fewer outbreaks since I stopped drinking soda. I thank others on this site for that gem, as I used to get outbreaks every spring and late fall, signaling a weather change usually within a month.
EC: ASA is the acronym for acetylsalicylic acid, or ASPIRIN.
Posted by K (New York, New York) on 12/27/2007
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This Works on Contact. Remove the top skin from the cold sore/herpes simplex. Ground Aspirin with 2 drops or tea tree oil (organic) and 2 drops of St. John's Wart liquid form (organic). If your a baby and you can't take pain you can numb it with Ambersol. It will kill the virus on site. It will form a scab immediately, stops the oozing, itching and swelling.
Posted by Juliana (Calgary, Canada) on 08/22/2008
★★★★★
I got Cold Sore while camping this summer. I have no clue how I got it, could be from sharing cups or from the grass. I felt the tingle on my upper lip while returning home. I went to see the doctor immediately. The doctor recommended acyclovoir cream, but I don't find it very effective. However, the nurse told me to wet a cotton ball with alcohol and rub around the lips for 5 minutes. I didn't have alcohol at home by then, so I used my toner instead, because there are alcohol in my toner. I felt comfortable using toner since I used then after washing my face everyday anyways. I wet the cotton part of bandage with Astringent Toner and stick the bandage on the bump. I repeated this about 3-4 times daily for two days, and my cold sore disappeared! The toner I used is called Garnier Pure - Astringent Toner - Tighten Pores. You can get it almost anywhere.
Posted by Barbiec1953 (Vienna, Virginia) on 10/05/2011
★★★★★
An imbalanced ratio of arginine: lysine will cause Herpes Simplex/Cold Sore/Fever Blister breakouts. Try to eat your arginine foods as little as possible... And stop them altogether as soon as you feel the tingling.
