Cold Sore Relief: Top Natural Remedies

I have had herpes since about age 7 or 8, I had it both orally and genitally, I know Doctors will say it is not possible but I think being a child I played with the oral sores and transferred it to my penis when I had a pee, anyway all my life it has come and gone and now I'm 64 and I just discovered this website. Brilliant. My outbreaks have been rare over the past 30 or 40 years but 3 years I moved from my native New Zealand to the Philippines and after coming here I began having outbreak after outbreak. I have seldom needed any medication before and suddenly I found I needed it, but I hardly got over one OB and another would start. Then I began getting a rash above the hairline on the back of my head, and around the waist, under my arms, my butt crack, anywhere I sweated heavily. That generated me thinking why, what is different, and after a lot of thought, it is definitely diet triggered. I went from Potato as the staple to rice and also in NZ I always drank alkaline water, where I lived the water was naturally alkaline.

So I began the 1/4 teaspoon of BS in a glass of water twice a day on a empty stomach, stopped eating rice for breakfast and began eating raw fruits as my first food, I would consume this using the ACV as a dip and would consume 1 or 2 tablespoons of it.

My skin began to clear immediately, the itching stopped, and the herpes outbreaks seem to have come to halt. I have been doing this for a month, added benefit, I have lost weight and my BP is a steady 110/70. What more can I say. I love this site. Thank Earth Clinic and especially Ted from Thailand.

Got a little time on my hands so I am posting today since I have not done so in a long time. I forgot to mention that I juice a lot primarily alkaline products. I juice celery, parsley, cucumber, few cloves of garlic, ginger, lemon and spinach. Every once in a while I change it, but a few of the items there are standard. I follow a chart and eat mostly alkaline foods and some raw. No rice, flour, oatmeal etc. Rice on a few ocassion if I am visiting somone which is rare. Mostly, ground foods, green salads and fruits. It can be frustrating at times, but after hearing that two people got cured, I am trying hard. No more fried foods etc. My meals r bland and boring, but I want result. I also test my urine. Powdered spirulina raises ph so I use it daily. Read my other posting. This is just an extension to what I forgot. Try to eat the foods that are very high in alkaline. I am no longer concerned about getting an OB. I am trying and praying hard. Read my blog to see what is working for me. I need to be patient. A lot of what I am using is updates that I get from my friend in Geogia who met this young man and told her what he did to be cured. I changed my diet recently, so I need to understand that it might take longer.

I woke up with COLD SORES on a Tuesday morning, and I was going to fly across the country to visit my boyfriend that Friday! No way was I going to see my boyfriend for the first time in a month and NOT be able to kiss him! I used ice AND lysine AND acetone. Here's how:

LYSINE: Took 3000 mg as soon as I got up, 2000 mg at lunch, and 2000 mg at bedtime. The second and third days, I took 2000 mg at each of the same times.

ICE: Iced ASAP for about 20 minutes. This stopped the tingling and pain for about half an hour after I was done. Iced again a few hours later for another 20 minutes.

ACETONE: After icing, I used a Q-tip to CAREFULLY soak each cold sore with acetone for about a minute. As soon as the tingling or pain came back, I soaked the sores with the acetone again. I did this for about an hour and a half, then rinsed my lips with lots of cold water. I soaked the sores with acetone again one time right before going to bed. The second day, I used the acetone one time in the morning and one time at night.

The sores were GONE by the end of the second day. My lips WERE red and puffy for another day or so in the places where I'd used the acetone -- so be aware that you might be replacing your cold sore with a chemical burn.

I have not tried using these three things separately, so I can't tell you which one is the best. But using all of them together worked for me!

Can you give us your recipes, please?

I want to share my sucess story with you all. I hate cold sores they leave me in a deep depression. With that being said I tried everything to get rid of the virus so it can heal. I have important plans for the weekend. I started getting one on Moday thinking it was a zit on the corner of my mouth. Boy was a wrong! I woke up on Wednesday morning at 3 am. In pain and saddened that I will miss this weekends events. I then decided to try Colgate total toothpaste on the sore. It helped ease the pain and I woke up with the virus gone!!! It is now Friday and I have been heavily appling aquaphor and neosporin since wednesday. The scab is off and a little red. I hope this helps you all good luck!!!!

So started getting a tingle on my chin and I immediately started applying cream it did nothing by the morning my whole chin was covered I read this post around noon it is now 4 and holy crap they're almost gone!!! Got a needle gently pricked each lump then got the nail polish remover soaked them for 5 min since every hr I have been applying a bit and it's almost gone awesome thanks guys

I found that when I start to feel a tingling on my lip(slight itch) immediately I get an ice cube and place it on the affected area for 10 minutes until the itching goes away using a on and off approach..... Don't want to freeze the lip. Do this at least twice within a hour, usually once does it. This has always worked for me. If I'm out I stop at any fast food place to get the ice. If you let it go and wait until your home it will probably be too late. I haven't had a cold sore for several years using this method. TRY IT! Barbara

It's April and it is spring. The weather is fluctuating 15-20 degrees (cold at night - warm during the day)

On Monday night, I was feeling extremely tired and exhausted to the point that I went to sleep at 9PM (I usually sleep very late). I woke up Tuesday morning and started feel a little tingle on my upper right lip and at the same time felt a bit of "COLD" coming on. I wasn't concern about the cold ( continuous sneezing gives me an early warning that I am catching a cold which didn't happen), but I knew that I'd have cold sores on my lip and it would hurt. Tuesday went by with my upper lips giving tingle sensations. On Wednesday morning I GOT the BLISTERS popping out, my lips were irritated, and it hurt. I came to work and researched earth clinic that always I always do for a personal healing information/solution. At around 12 Noon, I started dipping dabs of honey (which I use with my green tea) on the spot. At first, after a minute or so my cold sore started to tingle then the area felt burning a bit ( not too high, but I felt it). I kept on dabbing honey at the spot the rest of the day. By evening, the area stopped hurting, but the tingle continued whenever I dabbed honey on the spot. Before I went to sleep, I dabbed a bit of honey on the spot and went to sleep.

Thursday morning (after sleeping only 4 hours), I woke up and went to bathroom mirror. My lip sore WASN'T SWOLLEN as yesterday, the dark scab was lighter (instead of darker and hard), and the top skin on the sore must have come out. The area feels a bit hard and I believe that by end of day, the swollen area will subside. THE PAIN AND IRRITATION IS GONE and IT DIDN"T COST ME ANYHTING EXTRA.

RESULT: After a cold sore outbreak, I applied HONEY, and it took 24 hours to stop and start reversing the virus.

HONEY has multitudes of benefits including ANTI-BACTERIAL power.

As for the cold, I started taking Tomato Tea just to be safe.

Here I have something that helped me a lot my friends:

There is many creams against Lip Herpes but what really works is to take Lysine Capsules, Vitamin C 1gr retard or 2x 500mgr a day and avoid foods that have high levels of Arginine like chocolate, all nuts, and pulses. In addition eat a lot of curd (it contains Lysine). Also avoid direct sunlight upon your face and put a shawl against cold on your mouth.

Happy season change for all who suffer from Lip Herpes! Eva

I've tried many remedies, but what best works for me is a combination of lysine taken first thing in the morning and then twice more during the day, and in the first day of the sore, dabbing it periodically with tea tree oil, holding the cutip for a minute or so, then putting vaseline on it. Taking vitain C and zinc supplements speeds up the healing process. The best part about the teatree oil is that is dries the sore and it doesn't really break-up, making it easy to conceal, especially if you catch it within a few hours of forming. If you catch it before it starts swelling, when you just have tingling and itching, then it is very lkely it won't even form.

I have had real good luck with keeping my herpes lesions from beginning full blown sores. When you begin to feel the tingling of an episode, or even if they are there but not leaking fluid, dab on tea tree oil with your fingers straight out of the bottle. This will reduce and totally eliminate the sore. Otherwise, the episode takes 2 to 3 weeks to get over. I have my sores on my butt cheeks, so don't know how the tea tree oil would act on tender genital tissues?

I like to give many thanks for you for this good read!! I undeniably cherished every tiny bit of it. I've bookmarked your website to consider the new things you publish.

Raw Chocolate and Raw Almonds are both very good for your health. The processed version not so much. The problem is not these foods but the virus.

I have used Lauricidin brand of Monolaurin. I would NEVER reccomend it to anyone. I threw out $250 worth of tha stuff.

I never was able to take it without getting sick with a bad infection that would go into my lungs. Healthing Crisis B.S. The first rule is DO NO HARM. If something has to make you sick it's not worth using.

Coconut Oil however is good and I have had good experiences with it as well as Soverign Silver for any type of infection. I believe it will also help cold sores and herpes.

I have silver pulser. I will not use it for making silver and I feel that's not safe. I prefer Soverign Silver. I do however zap pimples with the pulse and they go away in about 24 hours. I use it also to arrest cold sores when I get them.

A canker sore is not the same thing as a cold sore. Nor does it have the same cause.

Hello, I have always suffered from cold sores since I am in my teens (now in my 30's). Research the process in "never an outbreak. " I practiced this system and since, my outbreaks went from 1-3 per year to I had one outbreak in the last 5 years! Check it out and good luck.

I have just gotten the first cold sore I've had in years and am in panic mode. I have been quite sick for the last week & I think my lowered immunity has brought on an outbreak.. I noticed it last night & applied an OTC ointment that didn't seem to help at all so I looked up a natural remedy. Thankfully I already had some raw organic apple cider vinegar, vitamin E & a bottle of oil of oregano handy from my week of being ill.

I originally applied the oil of oregano on it's own, about 3 or 4 times within an hour and just let it soak into the blisters, I could feel it burning a little & it seemed to be working really well, they seemed to almost disappear after the 3rd time... But a few hours later I noticed some swelling and they were bigger again, so I broke down and tried the acetone.. I was very skeptical about putting something so harsh on my lip but I am desperate to get rid of this thing before going to see my boyfriend. Since then I have been alternating from rubbing on the acetone, then a bit of oil of oregano & vit. E mixed together, then the ACV, then back to the oil & vit. E again, then the acetone. Etc. Etc. I cycle through these for about a half hour, letting each soak in thoroughly, then I hold an ice cube over it until it melts completely(this hurts but lowering the temp. will help slow the growth of the virus under your skin) then I leave it alone & let the irritation subside before repeating the whole process again.

Hope this helps! I find the OTC remedies only shorten the healing time by a day or 2 at most & leave the area so dry I usually get a very nasty, irritated & red scab after I manage to finally rid myself of the cold core. This is day 2 of my treatment and my small blisters have not popped, they have shrunk in size & I think it will start to heal before the blisters even break, which is great to be able to skip the whole embarassing phase of having an oozing, open sore on your face.

Everything you put on your skin is absorbed into you. I for one don't want any acetone inside me or on me. If you take one 500 mg. Tab of L-Lysine a day the cold sore will go away. It's a herpes virus from the whole Chicken Pox thing. That is what causes cold sores. L-Lysine is an amino acid. The ole bod need this.

I frequently get cold sores... Hate them. I've tried absolutely everything, including acetone and it did nothing for me. My cold sores swell terribly and I generally have flu like symptoms. I have been researching essential oils and making my own formulas and came across what oils are good for cold sores. I started out with tea tree oil, but found that it was not knocking the cold sore like I had hoped. So, I switched to Bergamont and applied it 3 to 4 times a day. It was wonderful. The cold sore did not disappear overnight, but the duration time and severity of the sore was diminished drastically. This will be the only remedy I use from now on. If you try it, I hope it helps you, too.

I wanted to share an option for treatment of Herpes with all who are looking for and ALL NATURAL and VERY EFFECTIVE option. In recent years I have been learning more about natural foods verses commercial and processed foods. A year and a half ago I joined a local food Co-Op where they follow Weston A. Price Founation practices regarding food orgins. It has been a great benefit to me and my family's health. Learning how natural (truly natural) food sources are key in our overall health. So, when Herpes invaded my happy little life I was compelled to find a remedy that would be natural and beneficial as well.

I've tried acetone, apple cider vinegar (ACV), campho phenic and I take L-lysine daily and I am still getting the outbreaks and having the full cycle of an outbreak with blisters etc. Again, hoping this info and the link provided will help someone else out there looking for natural ways to live with this embarassing virus.

I see a list for popular remedies but, under that list I do not see BHT (Butylated Hydroxy Toluene) for cold sores of which is a herpes virus. I for one am using it and am seeing the disapearance of one on my lip that used to break out every year. Some one here mentioned if you can't cure it you can at least control it. I say why control it when you can cure it. You can see the results of BHT under the remedies tab. Again I don't understand why it not under the list of popular remedies here as opposed to acetone which can be harmful. Acetone nay. BHT yea.

Dear Bella_vcista2, If you have a cold sore you have a form of herpes. Taking BHT a food preservative that kills lipid coated viruses. Your cold sore will return as mine did but does no longer. You can get it at VRP (vitamin Research Products) very cheap. The informed have the power. Art.

Why would anyone want to control something they can get rid of? You are not informed if you are using chemicals to treat cold sores. Cold sores is a form of Herpes like it or not. Herpes is a lipid coated virus. Now Butylated HydroxyToluene (BHT) is a food preservative that kills these viruses. Don't take my word for it, do your own research. The BHT is available ay Vitamin Reseach Products online. My cold sore or spot that usualy breaks out every year is now gone after 2 months of taking one 350mg capsule every day on an empty stomach with a gulp of fruit juice. Pamper your pet cold sore or kill it, the choice is your. Knowledge is power. Art.

Hi - I can't thank the people here on Earth Clinic enough! I had success using suggestions from here before and, yet again, I love you guys!

I was really skeptical about trying out acetone for cold soles, but I went ahead and tried this out. I had a cold sore that had developed for about a day, so I wasn't sure if this would work since most of the posts said to apply the acetone when the first symptoms appear.

Here's what I did:

Cold sore appeared for a day. It was still tingly, warm and the blisters and lip were definitely swollen.

Day 1: Applied acetone by dabbing the area in 5 minute intervals. I did twice before bed, maybe 1-2 hours apart. After each dabbing session, I rinsed the area with very cold water and applied a generous amount of vaseline.

Day 2: I did the same as above, about 3 times during the day.

After the first day I thought my cold sore felt better (less burning, less pain), but I couldn't tell if it mattered in any way because it was still pretty swollen.

After day 2 I the swelling and pain went down considerably and it scabbed over. I'm not sure if 'scabbed' is the right word. It was more like I could tell the acetone dried out the area.

Today is day 4. The last two days I discontinued the acetone. The swelling and burning are gone. The blisters are also gone. It's more of a crusty-dry area now. It's still noticebly red, but I went out and was able to cover it up with a bit of make up.

Does anyone else have any idea on how to speed up the healing at this point? I'm just using a liberal amount of vaseline in the evenings before bed, and I was hoping to speed up the healing. Thank you!

I'm not really sure why we would be advocating putting Acetone on each other's faces given this is an all natural remedies website. I have found though, and I've been dealing with cold sores since I was 4, that Camphor Spirit is the best for drying these out. Most pharmacies don't carry it anymore, but they will order if you ask. It's about $5. 00 for a bottle that will last you years. It's essentially the same stuff as campophenque and everything else we spend $10 buying without the extra chemicals. It just drys the cold sore. I haven't had one in years but for some reason, this week, developed one on the skin between my nose and lip. I've never had one here before and it's embarassing and frustrating. The camphor spirit makes it a little more bearable, since it goes away faster, but I'll be going out today for a bottle of L-Lysine.

Putting any type of of chemicals like bleach or acetone on a cold sore is a bad idea. It may get rid of it temporarily but it could cause unwanted side effects. The root cause of the cold sore is a virus, so you want to use treatments that attack the virus directly.

I've had good success using Lysine to treat cold sores. Here are a few good articles on cold sore treatments you can check out:

www.health911.com/cold_sores - In depth overview of a cold sore and various treatments

http://www.holisticallyhaute.com/2012/03/do-you-get-cold-sores-heres-how-to.html - Good article on natural remedies

www.yourcoldsoreremedies.com - Shows various natural treatment options you can choose from.

I know cold sores can be a major pain, but its better to do some research and use a safe treatment.

Amaranth Grain is a complete protein grain that is high in Lysine. Lysine tablets, even when kept under lip, never worked for me; But Amaranth Grain, ground into flour with a coffee grinder and used in recipes, really does help. And is VERY healthy to boot.

I have a cold sore and apply acetone nail polisher remover and it made it worst! Not only is it larger but it look like a open flesh wound! Now I'm using Campho Phenique and it's drawing out all the pus. This doesn't work for everyone.

It WORKS like magic! I have fought this virus since my college days. I have tried oral L-lysine, topical L-lysine, ice, 3%H2O2, 70% Isopropyl alcohol, and every other idea. Acetone nail polish remover on a Q-tip right on the cancker sore dried it up right away. Thanks so much, I have an interview on Tuesday. I was so worried I would NOT get it cleared up in the next 4 days. NOW. No worries!

I have been going through a lot of stress lately and a couple of days ago I felt it coming.... An upper lip herpes eruption... I was horrified since I have had to be around relative day in and day out due to a sickness in the family... So after I read about ICE as a cure for herpes... I though I might as well and try it.... IT WORKED!! EVERYTHING IS GONE my lip is clear.... Well except for a little ice burn on my upper lip cause I put ice again and again.... Hehehehe... Hey I don't mind as much cause it is gone.... So thank!!