Fast Cold Sore Remedies: What Really Works Naturally

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by A Helpful Friend (Salt Lake City, Utah) on 02/07/2012
★★★★★

On Thursday the 2nd a small bump on the right side of my lip, near the corner, began to grow. At first I was skeptical about treating it so I took some garlic, since I know of its healing properties, cut a small piece off and pressed it to the small bump. This made the bump decrease slightly. The next day I went to a mongolian restaurant where I enjoyed two oranges. Not knowing the affects of citrus and cold sores, I smeared the orange all over my lip in hopes that the citrus could combat it. The bump was was very pleased, it grew instead. I could feel it growing as I sat in the restaruant with a friend after eating the orange. By the time I got home it was more than one bump, and I was more than distraught. That night, (friday) I decided to try an over the counter product because I was desperate. Searching online, I found a product with a patented formula that promised to stop it in its tracks and have the sore gone in 24 hours. Of course I was optimistic. I began using the product and noticed it was still increasing in size and had spread to the entire corner of my mouth.

The next morning I discontinued use of the product and switched to Hydrogen peroxide because of this website. I also went on to read a book about the amazing healing properties of HP.

PROCEDURE: In the morning I woke up, soaked a cotton ball with HP and pressed it to my lip. I felt and enjoyed the burn because I knew something was working. The sore began to turn white with small bubbles and dried out. Let the sore dry out every time. It must remain as dry as possible. There is no limit to the amount of times to use the peroxide as it is a natural compound. I started eating 4 small yogurts each day on that saturday to boost my immune system and get a good amount of lysine in my body. I continued doing the pressing procedure all day, by night fall it had begun to create a scab and the peroxide didnt burn anymore. Sunday the cab was more apparent. Realizing it was in its healing process I used Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula in its Palmade form to help with the healing process. I could feel the tightness of the scab around my mouth. The scab began to fall off monday night. I woke up tuesday continuing with use of the palmade. It is tuesday night at 7 pm and I have been completely cold sore free for hours. The skin showing is not red or raw. My lip looks completely fine and healed because I didn't pick the scab. My mouth looks the exact same as it was last tuesday before any hint of a cold sore.

Acetone

Posted by Hb (Santa Fe, New Mexico Usa) on 12/31/2011
★★★★★

This past week I had been stressed out. Yesterday I noticed some itching at the edge of my bottom lip. Oh great! A cold sore is coming. I get these all the time, recently not so much, but ever since I was a yonug child (I'm in high school now). It's horrible! People make fun of you, it's so embarrasing. I kept searching on the internet of ways to make the damn thing go away. All of them said: you can prevent them, but once you have them you have to wait 7-10 days for it to go away. I kept searching on yahoo answers, and found something that didn't involve me going out to buy abreva or any other expensive products that only shorten healing time.

You take a sterilized needle and poke into the sore. You will see clear liquid ooze out of the sore now. Immediately take a cotton ball with acetone and press onto the sore, but after about 5 minutes change the cotton ball and do it again, because if you take it off and put it back on again an infection may form. It worked perfectly! It was gone instantly. I put [again] a new cotton ball with acetone on, and kept it on for an hour and a half. Please try this! But be careful because sensitive skin may have a chemical reaction from the acetone.

Avoid Arginine

Posted by beverly (usa) on 10/29/2023
★★★★★

I may have solved my own mystery.............I rarely get fever blisters but have changed my diet to Keto due to my husband being diagnosed with Parkinsons. One of the things I started doing was getting high fat yogurt, cream, buttermilk and keifer from a nearby dairy. The past month I have been constantly plagued with fever blisters at the corners of my mouth and nostrils.

Certain Foods

Consuming arginine-rich foods – such as beans, meat, chocolate and dairy – can trigger or worsen a cold sore. This is because arginine is required for the virus to replicate. Acidic foods and beverages can also trigger a cold sore outbreak. This includes citrus fruits, tomatoes, orange juice and even soda.

Source

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Anonymous (Bklyn, Ny, Usa) on 09/28/2011

Hi, I myself have become a victim of herpes. For three years I have been in denial until recently. I read Kevin Trudeau's book and bought larrea, plus his other recommendations except FGHP. I was talking to someone who uses it and then I became interested. I researched it online and got scared, but wanted this thing out of my body. I use Abreva on my lips daily and as a result, NEVER gets outbreak. On my Vajayjay, it comes once in a while. I used to be so depressed, until I came upon this site, earth clinic, and found a wealth of info. I recently started using the FGHP, after consulting a herbalist who told me to start with one drop in 8oz water until I get up to 25 and take 25 3x daily for one week. I got up to seven and was getting CONSTIPATED and had dark stool which freaked me out, so I took about a week off and went back to like 2 drops once or twice daily. I just bought lecithin and taking 4 capsules once daily plus liquid oxygen after someone claimed to be cured. I have stopped eating sugars and cut back on junk (which I did little off). By the way, has anyone been having weird dreams ahen they drink FGHP at nights and difficulty sleeping? It is bad. Can anyone send me blogs of folks who got cured and exactly what is used?

A few days ago I had an outbreak down there and poured boiled water plus purified water from store and added lots of FGHP in tub and I have to say it dissappeard by next day( I added little water and sat for a short while). I also was brave enough to put some FGHP on cotton ball and stuck it on OB for a while in underwear and lay in bed. It stung, but did the job. I have been boiling water instead of buying purified, is it the same? This blog has saved me. I feel there is hope out there. The FDA will not approve this natural stuff, because they will lose money. Thanks everyone. Thank you earth clinic.

L-Lysine and Vitamin C

Posted by Merryanne (Orange City, Florida, Usa) on 05/04/2011 113 posts

It is true that L-Lysine kills viruses, it has saved me several times from severe colds that would have put me in the bed for at least a week, but I do not want to miss that much time off my job. I am 64yo so it can be hard on me. I also take lysine 2000 mg every 4 hours as long as I am up, and the next day, as long as I have any symptoms, sometimes I do get very congestd, but not so that I have to miss work. If I had any permanet virus I would take it every 4 hours, 4 times a day for a few months and see if I could get totally free of that bug, but that is just me... I do have faith in lysine, the last cold I had, it started with a tickle in my thorat. I started with the lysine, the next day I was still sick.. I kept up with the lysine, then it was gone in two days, no coughing, no drainge, if not for the lysine I would have been down for a long time. And I did take some C 2000mg a day... For children under 60 pounds, I have given 250mg every 4 hours. Merryanne in Central FL

Vodka, Tea Tree Oil, Acne Cream

Posted by Kathleen (Virginia, Us) on 03/28/2011
★★★★★

The first moment you feel the itching/tingling sensation clean the whole area around your mouth with vodka/grain alcohol, after that rub tea tree oil on the areas that feel tingly/itchy. Let this dry, and then you will take acne cream the one with (10) in the name containing benzoyl peroxide, apply this carefully to the spot(s) with a q-tip. Try to keep the dots very small as the cream will dry out all skin and cause peeling. This has been truly magical for me!! If you catch it before there is any visible sign of a sore, it stops them from ever appearing. Repeat throughout the day, keep area very clean with alcohol and tea tree, use new cotton balls/q-tips/pads for each application, be careful not to touch anything, so as not to contaminate or spread infection to new spots.

Have been doing this for many years now, with great success! If you catch it when blisters are visible this will greatly help with speeding healing and preventing new sores. Good luck to all! This is such a great site, have used many of the remedies with success, and try to pass info on to all. Thank you everone so much!

Liquid Bandaid

Posted by Trying (Surburbia, Sc) on 02/03/2011
★★★★★

For those of you that have suggested a liquid bandage product - and for those of you who have wondered why on earth it might work....

I checked the ingredients this morning. In this order, it contains acetone(! ), alcohol(! ), isobutane-propane (propellant), oil of cloves(! ), pyroxylin solution. Three of its "inactive" ingredients are remedies that have been suggested in the comments as fixes, and one of them -- acetone -- has been recommended over and over.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the research someone posted earlier, there actually is bonafide medical research (by people with standard credentials) that shows that acetone does inhibit the reproduction of the virus by 90% - 97%. And it is a naturally occuring substance in the body, although NOT to be taken internally, without danger of running into things like Bell's Palsy, as someone else has mentioned. (i.e. , don't put it inside your mouth under any circumstances -- as they say, for external use only! )

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I'm trying them all (well, almost all). Humongous case, worst I've ever had. Moved from my lips to around my mouth, covering one jaw and under my neck. It's still spreading, but no where near as fast as it was. And no longer as completely uncomfortable and distracting as it was. Fortunately, I'm not letting it stop me. If other people are offended by looking at my disfigurement, that's their problem. I'm not going to miss work because I look funny.

Good luck, everyone!

Ear Wax

Posted by Oxygen Therapy (Miami, Florida, Usa) on 01/09/2011

Yes, earwax will stop a cold sore in its tracks. This is an old remedy that should not pass into oblivion. We all need to pass these down to the next generation!

Acetone

Posted by Melissa (New Brunswick, Nj) on 06/03/2011
★★★★★

IT WORKS! It's a miracle cure, I got a cold sore yesterday, used the nailpolish remover in the morning and by 5 or 6 pm is was almost gone, and this morning you can barely see anything! ONE DAY and I can leave the house! AMAZING

Garlic

Posted by J.t. (Delta, Oh, Usa) on 11/16/2011
0 out of 5 stars

I've been putting fresh garlic on my lip, not only burns, surrounding area seems to be discolored as well.

Vitamin C

Posted by Doug (Miami, Fl) on 11/05/2010
★★★★★

Vitamin C deserves it's own listing under cures. It's the one thing that works for me. If I take it at the first 'tingle' - no outbreaks. If I catch it too late (for example, I have a little blister when I wake up in the morning), the blister never gets any bigger. I'll generally take about 1500mg every couple of hours until the tingling goes away. Random note: 95% of my outbreaks are preceded by dry/chapped lips. Since moving back to Florida, outbreaks are luckily very rare.

Triggers

Posted by Sb (Rockland, Me) on 05/19/2010
★★★★★

I found that an Apple allergy causes open sores around the mouth. So far I know at least a dozen people have checked to see if their cold sores are related to apples and agree that apples bring on the sores.

Elderberry

Posted by Carynllewellyn (Edgewater, Maryland) on 04/14/2010
★★★★★

for over 15 years, I used to have back to back out breaks of genital herpes...I tried prescription meds to no avail...these meds gave me headaches...so I stopped taking them & just suffered.

Then I tried taking B-Complex w/C twice daily...this helped a lot...but not completely but at least I was down to one or two outbreaks a month usually around my menstrual cycle as opposed to chronic outbreaks...so I did a little research & found that Elderberry was an anti viral herbal (see notes below) I gave it a try...

To my Amazement WITHIN DAYS, I was free of any outbreaks at all...and the only outbreak I've had in the past few years was due to running out of the elderberry...it's an amazing little fruit.

Of course now, I make sure to have a little extra on hand...I am able to eat citrus again, this used to aggrevate my outbreaks, so much so that I had to avoid all citrus or suffer the consequences.

NOTES:
The research I read said that Elderberry is an anti-viral fruit... The way it works is that it actually encapsulates the virus and thus it is kept from attacking the body so it is flushed out in the urine/waste products. Regardless of how it works that little berry is another of Mother Nature's blessings. Before discovering it, I was in such bad shape from chronic outbreaks that I really couldn't have relations for fear of spreading that nasty little virus to my spouse.

I would Imagine since it is an anti-viral, it would work with regards to ANY VIRUS, which would make it especially helpful during cold & flu season & I would imagine (in my unprofessional opinion) that it would help those suffering from the HIV Virus as well. Please pass this info on to help others suffering as I was.

I recently began growing my own Elderberry Bush to make jams & pies, juice etc...the birds seem to love it as well...hope they leave some for me...hahaha...anyway, There is an Online shop that sells it at a very affordable price...and it's worth mentioning this because they sell it at 1/2 the cost of what one would pay at the local herb shop.

Thanks for Reading & Blessings to All, Caryn

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Megan (Brooklyn, New York) on 09/21/2010
★★★★★

This 100% works. I have had cold sores all my life and I have used hydrogen peroxide and it is already dried out after 30 minutes. It is even better if u take a Q-tip dip it first in rubbing alcohol, then non- acetone nail polish remover then hydrogen peroxide. It burns so bad but its works so fast.!!

Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes

Posted by Hilde (Chicago, Il) on 02/03/2010

Aspartame is toxic. It not only, apparently, causes herpes outbreaks, but may be linked to all sorts of ailments that plague people today. Don't believe the FDA's and diet industry's lies! Research the dangers of aspartame and stop ingesting it already.

Oregano Oil

Posted by Rhonda (Rockwood, Tn) on 10/01/2009
★★★★★

I put oil of oregano (one drop) on my fever blister/ cold sore and withing an hour I noticed it was disappearing. I reapplied throughout the day and by the end of the day it was as if I never had one. It had started out that morning as a potentially nasty one - a lot of blisters covering an area about the size of a dime. As you know, what you see in the morning is just the tip of the ice berg as they continue to grow during the first day or so. I also put three or four drops under my tongue. I bought mine from a health food store. Get the kind that is diluted with olive oil not alcohol. Also, there are places on line that sell it cheaper and in a much higher strength. There are even places that sell it undiluted with instructions on how to dilute it with extra virgin olive oil. I've tried all the other cold sore cures. This is the only one that did anything for me.

Oregano Oil

Posted by Jersey Guy (Jersey) on 02/19/2014

I'd like to add, yes higher strengths of oregano or olive leaf helps greatly. I would post what I use but I don't think I can. I'd like to add I use it with a product called diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a product that attacks parasites please please please research it u may like it. I've tried a bunch pf different products and some seem to work for a while and then I get stressed or drunk and pow it was back. I stumbled on diatomaceous earth from a website that had higher doses of a lot of good products but was to pricey. So I found the same strength cheaper online and gave it a try. I mixed DE with water and Olive leaf and did that 5 times that day. I think I did to much at once , because the next day I felt a tingling around my spine and burning and intense itching sensation at the back of my legs. I showered and used Food grade peroxide all over my body. and withen hours the itching and burning stopped and the sores went away. I kept doing the Olive leaf and DE daily it happened again maybe a week later much smaller and less intense, I did the same process in the shower with the peroxide. Everything had stopped again. I believed it to be the products pushing the virus to the surface. fast forward 8 months of doing this daily I havent had the slightest itch burning sensation etc. I recently added probiotics as that extra immune boost to keep me healthy but yeah. I just wanted to share my experience 8 months no issues when I use to have it at least twice a month.

Epsom Salt

Posted by Jean (Franklin, Wi) on 08/18/2009
★★★★★

No idea where I ever got the idea to try this, but it has worked every time for me. When I get a cold sore, I put a crystal of epsom salt on it. It stings for a bit, but within a short period of time the pain is down, a few hours I know its already on the mend, and the next day its usually about 1/2 to 2/3 cleared up. It only needs to be done once.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Jg (Oakland, California) on 08/04/2009
★★★★★

First of all I would like to thank all of you who've shared your experiences and comments. Last Thursday night I felt some tingling around my mouth so I decided to go and get some Abreva, (silly me). I went to bed hoping it would not get one. The next morning I woke up with some small blisters on the top corner of my lip, (I had to call in sicked). By Friday afternoon the blisters had spread to my side of my mouth and it was now almost now the size of a quarter. This was the first time I had a sore that big. I was desperate and didn't know what to do. I could not show up to work on monday with a sore that big.

That's when I decided to do some internet research and I ran into this site! I read on some of your Hydrogen peroxide success stories and decided to try it. I had my wife go to the store and get a small bottle of it. I poked the blisters with a needle and then held a cotton ball soaked in Peroxide for as long as I could. I then, covered the soar with a ___ ( you can find this at you local pharmacy) this is a gel. The gel will harden and won't let the soar get any air. (the virus can't continue to grow without air). After a few hours I carefully remove the gel by rubbing peroxide on it. I repeated this process every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day. Did the same thing all day Saturday. By Sunday night, All I had was a scab. I put some chap stick on the hard scab to make it soft and remove it. Monday morning, I used some on my wife's make up to cover the redness of my skin. You could hardly tell I had something there. This is the quickest I've been able to get rid of a cold sore! Thanks to you all!!

Vicks

Posted by Sandy (Monterey Park, Ca) on 07/29/2009
★★★★★

My husband was sporting a cold sore on his lip for a couple weeks. He was using some OTC stuff. I told him that I heard Dr. Oz say something about Vicks being good for fungus. He ignored me. Then I felt a sting on my lip and knew a cold sore was coming on. I immediately took a swab of Vicks and put it on my lip. I could feel it tingle. I kept applying it when ever I felt it had rubbed off. In two days the sore was gone. He was still sporting his!

Vicks

Posted by Vetta (Northeast, Usa) on 09/26/2010

This stuff works wonders on cold sores. Just apply like lip gloss. The scent isn't as strong as you think. Doesn't work instantly but heals them faster. And prevents future ones.

Acidophilus

Posted by Jimdave (Lavinia, Tennessee) on 06/02/2009
★★★★★

Acidolpholis cured my cold sores and fever blisters. Had them all my life and saw a note about this bacteria in a magazine. I laughed, like everyone else. Later is desperation I tried some Bulgarian Buttermilk and within 24 hrs they were gone. Worked for years, then they took the buttermilk off the shelves. Replaced it with bulgarian style (no bacteria added). It's a fake and doesn't work anymore. Bought the pills over the counter. Also works great. Just take one or two ocasionaly when traveling and eating processed food.If takeing antibiotics or drinking clorinated water you will need to take a mega dose between antibiotic pills. You will be amazed. No thrush or hemorriods. Most every company has thier own kind of bacteria so I alternate and keep a couple on hand. Some now say that they contain Bulgariacus. That apears to be the best.

Ear Wax

Posted by Shawn (Rochester, New York) on 04/22/2009
★★★★★

Cold Sores - Earwax: the thought and the taste is rather nasty, but it works better than anything else i've tried. When we were younger my mom use to apply our own earwax, strait from our ears to the effected area, to me sibblings and my sibblings whenever we got one. this really works.

Bleach

Posted by Amber (Portland, Oregon) on 02/27/2009

I am happy to hear about your success Gloria, and while I see that your sharing of it is intended to be helpful, I feel I must express my sincere concern about the safety of your remedy. Bleach is very toxic, even to breathe. I know that many of us use or have used it in our homes and for laundry, etc...and have probably absorbed it into our skin, without noticing, but I cringe to think about someone applying it to the mouth area, or getting the idea that this is a safe remedy to use in the future. I would hope that anyone reading over this remedy would take this into consideration and pursue other methods of healing, that are natural and work with the body instead of against it. In my opinion, it would be safer to just 'wait out' the sore than to apply a toxic substance to it. I hope you understand my need to mention all of this, as I feel that certain people could be harmed by this remedy.

Tea Bag

Posted by Kelly (Nashville , TN) on 02/20/2009
★★★★★

I have had clients who had very good success using Earl Grey tea bags as a compress for the cold sore. Wet a tea bag in barely warm water, squeeze just a little until not dripping and then use as a compress for 20 minutes at a time several times a day. The bergamont oil and tannins in the tea should heal the sore.

Honey

Posted by Kamran (Nyc, Ny Usa) on 04/12/2012
★★★★★

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.

L-Lysine

Posted by Rodney (Charlotte, NC) on 12/09/2008
★★★★★

I heard about l-lysine for cold sores using the internet about 10 years ago. I tried it then and it did not work. This time L-Lysine closed my sore almost immediately. This time I took larger dosages. My sore was already opening on my lip when I started using Abreva. But Abreva(???no generic ointment name) is not that great once a sore starts.

Since discovering this site, I decided to use a larger dosage of the L-lysine and within 1.5 (one and one half days) the sore has closed up and is well on its way to disappearing. Even though Herpes I is widespread, it is very uncomfortable for me to deal with people's reaction to seeing an open sore on your lips.

Measurements:
I am a big guy. So this time I used 3 1000mg tablets every six hours for 2 days. And each day following the first 2 days, I will lower it 1000 mg until I am taking nothing.

I usally get sores around the holidays which is a very stressful time for me for some reason. Thanks so much!