Top Natural Remedies for Cold Sores (Fever Blisters)

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Geri (Seattle, Washington) on 08/09/2012

What the best combination of supplements is to permanently eliminate dormant herpes from the nervous system? What is the dosage, and for how long should the herbs and supplements be taken?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Maxklug (MA, US) on 03/05/2015

There has only EVER been ONE substance shown to eliminate a dormant herpes infection. That is Glycyrrhizic Acid. It causes cells that have the dormant Kaposi Sarcoma virus in them to die. Chaps Sarcoma is a type of herpes virus. It is not known if this works for other herpes type viruses. I am unclear of the exact mechanism but it works somewhere along the lines of it activates only half of the mechanism to reactivate the dormant virus' DNA and this causes the cell harboring the virus to die. If I remember correctly this research was done in Japan.

Self treatment with this would be tricky or dangerous, and could only be short term as Glycyrrhizic Acid causes a rise in cortisol levels by inhibiting the breakdown of cortisol.

L-Lysine

Posted by Becky (Fulton, Ny ) on 07/31/2012

My husband was diagnosed Bipolar 2 about 1.5 yrs ago after a manic episode possibly brought on by the huge amount of stress he was under. I read here about bipolar being caused by the herpes virus and it clicked because my husband had Rheumatoid Arthritis caused by the herpes zoster virus.... After a yr. on metronidazole he is completely healed of RA but was taking 2,000mg a day of Lysine to keep the virus in check.

He is in a depressed state now having come down from a manic eposide about a month ago. On day 1 he took 1,000mg Lysine every hour for 12 hrs...... Day 2 he took 1,000mg Lysine every hr. for 10 hrs. He felt less depressed the middle of day 2. On day 3 he took 1,000mg every hr. for 8 hrs and he felt much better but he woke up depressed on morning of day 4.... Which is today.... He started taking the Lysine at 8am then every hour so far......

Should he keep going every hour? How long should he keep doing this?

He is also taking.... Gelatin multi-vitamin 2x, vit c 1,000mg 4x, Vit. B6, 12, folic acid, Selenium 2x, Vit. D 5,000iu a day, Niacin 500mg 3x, choline 400mg, Inositol 650mg, zinc 50mg 2x, MSM 1,000mg 3x, Vit. A, Milk Thistle and he has taken various amino acids to help with mood.

I really do believe this could be cause by the herpes zoster virus because it caused his RA but dont want him to OD on lysine. Can this much lysine damage his liver? Seems like this virus is really holding on but I do see hope but not sure where to go from here? Is there anything else that can knock this virus out? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Becky

Lemon Balm

Posted by Crys (Ventura, Ca) on 07/15/2012
★★★★★

YAY! It worked great!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Please Help (Fort Wayne, In) on 06/06/2012

So if I take 2-3 tablespoos of vinegar a day will this cure the hsv2 virus or do I have to add something else to it?

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Emily (Alameda, Ca) on 06/06/2012

I have never heard of such a thing, but if you're going to try it.. I wouldn't take that much, ESPECIALLY all at once.. if you have any negative side effects, they will come on way stronger than you'd appreciate.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Miserable_in_bama (Oneonta, Alabama, United States) on 06/10/2012

try L-lysine 1, 000mg 2x a day, morning and night, and you shouldn't have another outbreak. As for healing what you have, echinacea/goldenseal, red clover, burdock root, pau d' arco, elderberry, acidolphilus. Ech/goldenseal is best, but take acidolphilus or you will get a yeast infection, it is like an antibiotic. Keep it clean and dry. Use witch hazel or tea tree oil to help it heal up. Tea tree oil will dry it out, give you pain relief, and it feels cooling to me.

L-lysine is cheap and I haven't had an outbreak in 2 yrs. I used to get them so bad I passed in and out of consciousness, high fever, extreme joint and muscle aches, dizziness, you name it. Take me a month to heal.

Good luck and God Bless

Acetone, Aloe Vera

Posted by Grace (London, Uk) on 05/28/2012
★★★★★

I get shingles or facial herpes on my cheeks and chin.

I do not get it on my lips but either next to my eyes or around my nose or below my lips. The doctors have never determined which form of herpes it is. Valtrex has not helped.

Two things have really helped me. I want to share them with people so they can hopefully really improve this painful and unpleasant condition keeping the suffering to a minimum and the scars to next to nothing. The aloe vera also works for boils so I am going to post there too.

I am so grateful for having found these amazing solutions.

Acetone for the early stages, if you feel a tingling and you manage to get it on soon enough, it can stop the sore(s) dead in its tracks. I find putting it on an ear-bud (Q-tip) and applying every hour or so, is the best. Then overnight put a glob of Abreva cream on the sore(s) and by morning it is gone or on its way out.

If the sore does develop I find Fresh Aloe Vera straight from the plant is the most amazing thing for drying it up. I often end up popping the blisters, as I find the swelling so painful. Once the sore(s) is gross and oozing you want to dry it up as fast as possible, avoid wetting the sore or taking long showers and baths.

You should apply fresh aloe vera- the juicy part- straight from the plant every half an hour or so until the sore turns into a scab and then keep on applying as often as you can. Only fresh aloe vera from the plant works, I have tried the bottled stuff and it just does not work the same. I always have an aloe vera plant in the house for these needs and have been known when travelling to bring parts of leaves with me in a ziplock bag!

The best thing is to slice a small amount off the plant and keep it in the bathroom and just keep on applying the juicy liquid as often as you can. Eventually you'll need a fresh piece as the juicy part will dry out.

I have found I can 'cure' a sore in 3 days if I am lucky, with only a minor red mark at the end that is easy to cover with concealer. Usually on the 3rd day of applying the aloe vera the scab is so tight and dry it easily falls off or peels off. I advise you: do NOT pull it off if it is still stuck on too tight or shows no signs of peeling off as you will have a scar and the sore may not be healed properly underneath yet. If this is the case just keep on applying aloe vera until the sore is completely dried out and has no bump underneath or swelling at all. The aloe vera really stops inflammation as well as drying out the sore.

If you are sure the sore is really dead and dried out and all scabbed up, another thing that helps the healing is to apply -only when you are 100% sure it is all dried up! Or else you will reactive it- some neosporin. This will help humidify the skin underneath so it heals nicely without leaving a big scar.

Aloe vera, straight from mother nature, from the fresh plant is heaven sent and I thank beautiful nature and mother earth for giving us this wonderful miracle!

I really advise you try this; I have tried everything over the course of 4 years of suffering from these sores now, baking soda, salt, vinegar, various creams, lotions, to dry out a sore but nothing works like fresh aloe vera.

I have not yet found a preventative measure yet despite trying nearly all the remedies suggested here but when I do I will post about it.

Alcohol

Posted by Drmet (Orange, California, USA) on 05/20/2012
★★★★★

i have had herpes type 1 for over 30 years and yesturday i started to get a break out on my lip so i did what i have done for over 20 years.

warning!!! what i do is extreamly painfull, but it works!!!

1. when you feel you are breaking out wait about 8 to 12 hours for the sore to get 1/2 way to a head.

2. get a razor blade or sharp knife and scrape the outer skin from the sore.
(you will bleed a bit, this part hurts but continue)

3. get a tissue, cotton balls or a rag and dip it in rubbing alcohol.

4. place the alcohol swab on the open sore, do this 4 or 5 times.
(this hurts alot! but only for a few seconds then re apply when you are able)

as i stated above i allowed my cold sore to come to a small early head, then did my treatment and this morning my sore is not hurting, my glands did not become inflamed, do not have any pain from the sore!

i know this works for me, please remember if you choose to use my cure, it is painful for a very short time so i suggest if you start do it quick and get it over with.

doc

Lemon Balm

Posted by Irbgirl (Indian Rocks Beach, Fl USA) on 05/20/2012

Are you on any blood pressure med? There was a certain bp med my husband was on and it caused him to get cold sores. (I'm a nurse and that really doesn't make sense, but... ) He started taking Lysine to stop the cold sores and it worked. A few years went by and he got a new doctor who wanted him to use a newer, different bp med. My husband, being my husband, ran out of Lysine and never bothered to replace it. When I asked him about it, he told me he hadn't taken Lysine in a long time and really felt it was the old brand of bp med that had been causing the problem.

Lemon Balm

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 05/24/2012

Angela, do you know if this would help for canker sores (inside the mouth) too?

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Anonymous (Bklyn, Ny, Usa) on 04/29/2012

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.

Acetone

Posted by Tunameat (Myrtle Beach, Sc) on 11/04/2012
★☆☆☆☆

I just noriced a cold sore yesterday. It was barely noticeable so I ran out to CVS and got Abreva and Lysine , I spent about $30. I lathered that on and went to sleep. Wake up and its 2x bigger, red, swollen and has a white blistery area forming on my lip, sorta flat so far. I applied Nail Polish remover this morning since I was so pissed. I put it on a Q-tip and dabbed it on my lip for about 10 seconds. I did it again about an hour later, then 2 hours later. So far I see absolutely no change. Nothing. Looks exactly the same. I think this may be a placebo effect. Does not work.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Eva Maria (Bern) on 04/11/2012

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

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Marathonlady (Denver, Co.) on 04/04/2012
★★★★★

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?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by New Generation Hippy (London, Ontario, Canada) on 03/26/2012

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.

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Ms. Qt (Miami, Fl) on 09/13/2012

I know you're looking for dietary remedies, and I empathize. But let me make this suggestion, the only thing that has worked immediately and the fastest of all I've tried is Xovirax - get a prescription and keep the tube in your bathroom.

When you feel a hint of irritation - no visible signs take a pin point portion on your finger and apply directly to the spot. I tell you, the sore/blister never surfaces. And the tube will last forever!

Acetone

Posted by Bella_vcista2 (San Mateo, Ca) on 03/21/2012
★★★★★

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!

Acetone

Posted by Cg (Ny) on 03/27/2012

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.

Acetone

Posted by Lorik (Walden, Ny) on 06/23/2012

I use to use pure Spirit of Camphor, the same way you said you use acetone. I never used the vaseline on top of it. The spirit of camphor did indeed do the trick in a short time frame. But now I only use L-Lysine at the very first sign of itching, bubbling, puffiness. I take it 3-4 times a day for several days.

Acetone

Posted by Ethnie (Fl) on 05/26/2016

Thank you for speaking about the Chicken Pox...it clarified my outbreak

Amaranth Grain

Posted by Lara (Bristol, Ct) on 04/21/2012

Can you give us your recipes, please?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Zay (Virgin Islands, Usa) on 01/02/2012

I get mild outbreaks on my upper lip. The minute I feel a tingle on my lip I apply 3% hydrogen peroxide on my lip. Allow the peroxide to set in for awhile. I then cut a fresh clove of garlic and apply to my lip. This burns like h@$$ for about 10 seconds. The peroxide and garlic causes my lips feel a bit dry so rather than using lip gloss/ balm I apply pure vitamin E oil or coconut oil on my lips. That has stopped me from having any major outbreaks.

Acetone

Posted by Dawn (Oak Harbor, Wa) on 12/24/2011
★★★★★

Last week I was under a tremendous amount of stress and ended up with a huge sore on my lip. I awoke with it and immedietly started applying Acetone several times a day. It was all dry within 2 days. I am now dealing with the dry scab but never had any pain or discomfort. My husband was very upset when he saw my lip cause he isn't allowed to kiss me while I am healing. It usually takes me a couple weeks to heal. Needless to say he is very happy with the fact it only took two days to go away. I will definitely be letting others know how to get rid of their sores also.

Acetone

Posted by Frankie (Renfrewshire, Scotland) on 12/25/2011

It's good getting rid of cold sore pain so quick but wish could get rid of scab quick as well anybody help with that?

Acetone

Posted by A Omaha (Omaha, Ne ) on 01/10/2012

Acetone works but best is abreva and campho phenique which is over the counter at the drug store. Right when it starts tingling and getting red... Put on the campho and then slather on the abreva and it will barely come out... but you gotta catch it right away just carry it with you cause it's always unexpected.

Acetone

Posted by K_g_det_1 (Canton, Mi U.s) on 02/21/2012
★☆☆☆☆

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.

Acetone

Posted by Susan (Bklyn, Ny) on 07/11/2012

Eat flounder weekly and u will never have an OB again. In the meantime focus on changing your diet to get cure. I am living proof of flounder while I work on cure. Read my post how to prepare. Look for "flounder".

Acetone

Posted by Mark (Las Vegas, Nv) on 03/31/2012

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

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Alamont (Reno, Nevada) on 12/06/2011
★★★★★

I don't get cold sores often enough to realize what's happening until it's too late. I had dry lips one day and the next day awoke with a pea size sore on the outside of upper and lower lip. I immediately put Releev on as directed on the package for one day. The next day my lips were visably swollen and the cold sore quater-size. Plus, the sore now extended into my mouth. Everywhere I read online said once a cold sore moves inside your mouth you have to take anti-viral drugs to get rid of them. I wasn't about to do that. So I began gargling with hydrogen peroxide. It bubbled a lot, but I noticed no difference after one day so I began gargling with a solution I got in part from this site: 1oz warm filtered water, 3oz hydrogen peroxide, 1tbsp baking soda, 1tbsp sea salt, and two drops Lugols iodine. I also put the solution on a spoon and held it to my sore. I let the sore air dry, trying to keep my mouth open to dry out the sore inside my mouth too. Once it was dry, I dapped tea tree oil both inside and outside. I did this as often as I could throughout the day (maybe every 2 hours), as I still had to go to work. By the next day my swelling reduced and it felt like it was on the mend. By the 5th day, it was just a scab and in 7 days it was completely gone. I would have liked it to be gone sooner, but I feel like one week was a good healing time for such an intense cold sore.