The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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.
BHT
Posted by Art (Vancouver Bc, Canada) on 03/22/2012
★★★★★
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.
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.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Mari (Houston, Texas) on 12/02/2011
★★★★★
I used aloe vera for my cold sore once before and the swelling was gone and my sore was completely gone in 3 days.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Una1rose (Toronto, On, Canada) on 11/25/2011
★★★★★
Most importantly, I have learnt that if I stress out about herpes or anything, my sores are worse and occur more often.
I take 2000 mg L-Lysine when I get an outbreak or tingle. It can prevent them for a few days and sometimes I never develop them at all.
I avoid any foods with baking soda/powder, salt, sugar, yeast. These foods really stress out my immune system and make me more susecptable to breakouts. I eliminated them from my diet and now only break out 1-2 times a year at most. I'm a strict vegan as well which also helps my immune health.
My system for treating outbreaks:
I wash and then cover sore in Abreva. Then I cover with it with New Skin, a liquid bandage. It's nice and stress free. It tingles and smells like herbs and I don't have to worry about infecting others or other parts of my body.
Every morning and night I wash the sore and hold a cotton pad with a mixture of cold camomille tea, tea tree oil and rubbing alcohol on it for a minute or two. I then pat dry with a tissue and cover with New Skin. In a week, for sure, the sore will be completely gone.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Gavin (Manganui, Northland, New Zealand) on 11/11/2011
With regards to herpes, coconut oil fixes it by stripping the protective lipid coating on the virus. The Apple cider vinegar will collapse it at the tingling stage, as it forms, applied topicaly. It might even clear it out over time. Coconut oil is sure, but with ACV I guess with its coating stripped the ACV cleans it faster than the immune system. The dose is three teaspoons per day for a couple of months to clear the body of the virus. But it's nice in smoothies.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Andre (Phoenix, Az) on 11/11/2011
3 teaspoons a day regarding the Colloidal silver? How do you know this? Did you cure your herpes? If you don't mind me asking..
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Anastazi (San Luis Obispo, Ca) on 12/14/2011
I have herpes simplex 1 on my genitalia and on my mouth and some have popped up randomly. Overall it has been mild but I too feel like it has stopped me from living my life fully the idea of never knowing when it's active for sure and the possiblity of transmitting it is terrifying to me. I tried to take the meds the clinic gave acyclovier.. Can't afford valtrex but it made unable to sleep or eat and I started feeling down right on the edge. My nervous system was shot. I stopped taking it and started taking l lysine, garic pills, but have noticed better luck with raw garic, vit c, echinechia/goldenseal, oxide coloidial silver the smallest particle form I ingest it in tincture form and I have a topical spray I use. I tried a salve of colloidal silver aloe and tea tree but I don't know how well any of it works yet. I've had this for going on three months and I have had three total breakouts but the recovery time has gotten alot better I know there are triggers: booze, sugar, coffee, choc- booze seems to be the worst. I want to cure this!! I have been reading about Zinc as a possible topical way to kill the virus if kept on continually during an outbreak. Has anyone had any luck with this?.. I am wondering if the coconut oil is best topical and ingested as with the apple cider vinegar?
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Maxklug (Ma, Usa) on 03/05/2015
Get some powdered licorice root. Put it in DMSO and let sit for several days. Then apply that DMSO to the lower back. Don't do this for more than a couple weeks as Glycyrrhizic Acid will raise cortisol levels. Do not take DMSO internally. If you wish to try to take the licorice internally then make a tea out of it and consume it AFTER first consuming fresh grapefruit juice. The grapefruit juice will inactivate an enzyme that would hydrolyze the Glycyrrhizic Acid. Once again, do not do this for more than a couple weeks as it will raise cortisol levels and that in turn will raise your blood pressure.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Mike (Los Angeles ) on 09/14/2015
Do you know if it's bad to use it with regular filtered water?
Acetone
Posted by Anjoyla (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 12/17/2011
★★★★★
Have to say after trying over the counter things, muipricin, benzoil peroxide, peroxide, alcohol, salt water, and over the counter cold sore treatments for the past week nothing has worked. I came on line this morning and I saw people trying nail polish remover. I was willing to try it anything to get rid of this. I have had to take pain relievers where the pain of this was outrageous and even they didn't work. I have covered the sore with a bandaid it didn't work. This is the first sign of relief in over a week.
I get these cold sores everytime I try to wear lipstick or lip balm if it's not made of lysine never again. For my birthday for pictures I put lipstick on not thinking it would create a huge problem- it did. So now I am trying to get rid of this before Christmas. These are miserable and embarrassing so I am giving this a try and if it works then I am sticking to it.
General Feedback
Posted by Wendon (Bklyn, Ny) on 10/06/2011
Hi Ted, I have HSV1 and 2. I just started using baking soda and citric acid, stabilized oxygen and little coconut oil in warm water. How long do I use citric acid and baking soda for? Is it safe to use coconut oil, since I am concerned about blocked arteries. I do it twice a day. I also take FGHP every other day now since I do not want to mis too much stuff. I take 4 lecithin cap daily. Thanks alot! Just started 1st week october 2011.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Chauncey (Asbury Park, Nj) on 09/29/2011
I've never had a cold sore. Takes less then 2 weeks to heal but this time it took about 5. I felt a cold sore starting one day, I left it alone, it seemed to go away but once I shaved my face to have a night out and drank a snapple and the artificial sweetener irritated it and I felt it grow the whole night. The next morning I woke up an it was right in the center of my top lip. I was so pissed, but I remembered stress doesn't help so I took a couple deep breaths and tried to not let it get to me. I did research and I bought nail polish removal, hydrogen peroxide, vitamin c pills and neosporin overnight lip renewal cream. I took a vitamin c pill every morning.
Then every hour and a half I dipped a qtip in the peroxide then the acetone and dabbed it on the outbreak, until I was about to go to bed. Right before I went to bed I used a qtip to put the over night lip renewal cream and repeat. I also watched what I ate, I love greasy and spicy food. But this week I ate healthy and drank nothing but water. Other research I found was the L-lysine pills. I read stories of people not getting an outbreak for 15 years from taking vitamin c and l-lysine pills everyday. I just ordered them this week hopefully I'll never have a outbreak again. It's the most embarrassing thing to ever go through. I hope this post helps someone out there. Just know, you're not alone and don't stress it.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Anastazi (San Luis Obispo, Ca) on 12/14/2011
I have herpes symplex 1. I started having outbreaks a few months ago and have been struggling with reocurring mild outbreaks on my face and a few randoms I think I had one on my arm.. So far I use alba green clay mask when I feel the tingling start and it has stopped outbreaks and in the case of already formed bumps it has reduced then so significantly.. I just keep the clay dabbed on when there is tingling before I go out and all night or when im home. It cleared them in about 5 day and kept them from looking noticable.. This in conjunction with raw fresh garlic in every meal and vit c and lysine.. Hope the clay tip will be of some use I had heard white clay was the best to use but I tried the green since that's what I had and it was very helpful.
Cha De Bugre
Posted by Bethany (Houlton, Me, United States) on 09/27/2011
★★★★★
I was looking up info online about the herb Cha de bugre, also called The Brazillian Energizer. I was surprised to read that it has been used for the treatment of herpes virus. I have had cold sores on my nose and lips several times a year since childhood. I am 43 years old. People who don't get cold sores can't always understand how embarassing and miserable it can make you feel. I bought a bottle of 500 mg capsules (Cordia salicfolia Cham) (10:1 concentrate) and have been taking them 1-3 times daily. This has really worked for me! I still also take lysine once or twice every day. I am very impressed with this supplement, although I don't notice it giving me much of an energizing effect, that's ok. It's also used for weight loss among other things. I will keep taking this every day and make sure I never run out of it. Thank you God for healing herbs and for Earth Clinic!
Cha De Bugre
Posted by Anonymous (Bklyn, Ny) on 09/30/2011
Hi, I am in this same situation and after reading blogs, I have just begun to use neem (liquid), lecithin(capsule), stabilized oxyen and 4 dropd FGHP( 35% food grade hydrogen Peroxide) once daily. I will keep you posted. I do not get cold sores at all since I put Abreva daily on lips especially where there is always a feel that it would come up. I will keep you posted, but I am determined to kill this thing. I have done a full body clease and have changed my diet. The things I am using have claimed to heal some people. Will get tests next year if there is no signs of it.
