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.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by A (USA) on 03/17/2008
Just some feedback, I have genital herpes but rarely get more then one very tiny blister. The other night I had a Slim Fast diet bar, almost immediately I had the feeling of irritation. By the following day I had the most severe outbreak of blisters I have ever had since contracting the virus. I normally never consume diet products as a rule and wonder if the Slim Fast bar caused such an unusually severe outbreak.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Jenn (Covington, Louisiana) on 02/22/2008
re: herpes: I am so glad I found this site!! I have totally quit eating or drinking anything with artifical sweetners in it. No more OB!!! I have learned to read EVERY label, did you know gum had artifical sweetner in it, even if it is not sugar free! Bonus I lost inches when I quit ingesting the junk, went from a size 16 to a 12!!!
Ice
Posted by Rian (Portland, Oregon) on 02/01/2008
★★★★★
Everytime I get the tingle, or the first little hint of a blister on my lip. I get an Ice cube, stick it in a bag and hold it on the bump til it is totally disolved. Sometimes you may need to use 1-3 ice cubes. But it works without fail. The next morning, the cold sore is already gone. And usually the scab is small and gone in a day or two. This is the fasted way to stop em. Try it.
Ice
Posted by Paula (Perth, Wa, Australia) on 07/01/2010
★★★★★
I've used the ice cube method also & it worked really well for me. I did it about 4 or 5 times per day for the first 3 days with only a single ice cube wrapped in a tissue. The longer you can tolerate the cold on your lip, the quicker it heals or the less severe the coldsore ends up. It seems to reduce swelling to almost non-existent & the virus really doesn't like the ice at all. A good follow-up is some fresh aloe vera dabbed on it straight after the ice treatment.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by secondch@nce (Phuket, Thailand) on 08/05/2008
I was just wondering, How do you apply apple cider vinegar if it's Genital herpes? You know, the sores and all in the insides? does it also, like, heal or helps to keep it from too much itching and burning?
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Anonymous (Canada) on 12/20/2016
This is probably what I should have done. Instead I held the cotton ball on my lip for 5 minutes or more. My lip swelled and it's still swollen a day later. I'll try this again in the future if I get another sore, but definitely will use it carefully. I used organic apple cider vinegar.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Ray (Bda) on 12/14/2007
After 19 years with herpes i saw this website and I thought hmmm. I have never been able to go more than a week without having an outbreak so I thought id take a look at my diet. 'Over all these years I have been going to the gym and using shakes that all have artifical sweetners in them. When i stopped going to the gym I found that i still used many products that had ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER. It has been about 2 months since I first saw this site and I now look at everything I eat to make sure I dont ingest any sweetner. I haven`t had an outbreak in this time. Please give this a try. And im using fresh lemons as a natural cleanser. I have a fresh glass of lemon juice everyday.
Acidophilus
Posted by John (Sandpoint, Idaho USA) on 11/27/2007
★★★★★
At first sign of a COLD SORE take two acidofillus capsules with water three times a day. These bowel friendly bacteria used to be available in yogurt and/or goats milk but are now usually removed. I believe that the friendly bacteria helps balance the ph of the colon and eliminates the cold sores. I have used this on myself and my family and a dozen other people in the last 25 years and never seen it fail. Results almost immediate and it never takes more than 24 hrs.
Head and Shoulders Shampoo
Posted by Ronda (Shelburne, Canada) on 11/25/2007
★★★★★
I have found that breaking the sores (with fingernail clippers) to open them and applying Head & Shoulders shampoo is an incredible way to get rid of cold sores fast. You must open the sores, though, to get the shampoo directly inside them. Warning, it hurts like peroxide on cuts but it's worth it. If you do this at the first tingle, you can usually keep the sores from developing at all. Apply it often. Then, once the sores are scabs, use polysporin to heal them very quickly.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Heather (Boulder, Colorado) on 11/23/2007
Can not say what a relief it was to find this web site. I eat and drink allot of sugar substitutes. I had no idea it could cause break outs. Right before I logged on tonight I drank a diet soda, with in minutes I felt an outbreak comeing on. This is a very difficult subject to talk about even with my doctors. The worst was having to tell my obgyn when I found out I was pregnant. So great to have a place to go. As of tonight out goes the sugar subs. and I will take into account all the other helpful diet suggestions.
BHT
Posted by Lucky (Durban, South Africa) on 11/01/2007
★★★★★
Hi my name is Lucky Phoswa, from South Africa I'm busy experimenting with BHT, to try and control my cold sore outbreaks and documenting it all on my blog at:
bht-coldsores.blogspot.com. I want to give users first hand information on the use of BHT, with results and it's side effects. Many thanks,
BHT
Posted by Lee (Fremont, OH) on 06/11/2008
★☆☆☆☆
Ok after reading the above blog on BHT, I thought I would give it a try. So I began taking 250mg per day and over the course of a week or two ramped it up to 1000 mg per day. i continued this for 2 months not always taking 1000mg but varying between the 250 and 1000, and during this time I had far more (3 to be exact) and more severe outbreaks than I'd had in the 5 years since first realizing I had genital herpes. So, I would say BHT is an emphatic NO. I even combined it with ST. Johns Wart (hipericin). I have been outbreak free since quitting the BHT and thought well maybe this stuff actually worked and I had rid myself of the virus, but just last night I began feeling the familiar pain, like somebody punched me in the vag and it has continued onto today. No blisters yet but I'm sure they are coming. Since quitting the BHT, I have been boosting my immune system with extra zink, resveratrol, flax seed oil, mega doses of vitamin b, vitamins a+d, vitamin c. The boosting of the immune system seems to be the only effective therapy.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Becky (Carbondale, IL) on 10/22/2007
I just read about artificial sweeteners and it's expediting effects of the herpes virus. This is very interesting to me because three days ago I bought a box of splenda,(I usually use regular sugar). I have such a sweet tooth that I've been putting splenda on everything! Today, I woke up with cold sores on my lips. Could it just be a coincidence? or maybe artificial sweeteners actually do cause outbreaks...I'm giving it up to see if this is true! Damn you splenda
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by John (Toronto, Canada) on 09/21/2007
I was severely depressed this morning when I woke with an OB [OB = Outbreak] (HSV-2). Perhaps I am one of the "lucky" ones but it has been over 7 years since my last OB. In that first year, I had 2 OBs in quick succession, then got on Valtrex suppressive for a period of 2 years). After stopping the suppressive, I was clear for another 5 years. Now I should mention that I have recently hit an incredible wall of stress and depression based on financial and personal issues. I also started a diet that was heavy on the sugarfree gum, diet soda, and protein powder (with artificial sweeteners). I am halting all of those immediately thanks to this site and all of the anecdotal support. Based on what I've read on this site, I will try
1.) removing all artificial sweeteners,
2.) investigate and/or start taking supplements that include L-Lysine, Neam Leaf, Garlic tablets
3.) begin consuming foods such as broccoli for the indole-3-carbinol and apple cider vinegar
4.) remove refined sugars, chocolate, almonds, peanuts, beer, wine
BHT seems to have an interesting potential. I'll have to look at this potential "miracle" cure immediately. Most of all, I thank this site and other posters for making me feel less alone with this. I've been OB free but I think about this every day of my life. If I may be allowed to vent for a second, I still feel intense disgust, hostility, and anger at the "person" who neglected and denied to inform me. I'll leave it at that since I am returning to the feelings of hate, anger, and depression as I write this. I'll just say that I truly feel for those of you who have had the same/similar experience. Finally, does anyone have a suggestion for a reliable, legitimate online source for ordering those supplements. Quite honestly, I don't feel like walking into a public store and asking for every supplement that is linked to help HSV.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Ryan (Mississauga, Ontario) on 09/02/2007
At work on Wednesday, I decided to try sweetener instead of Sugar in my tea for the first time. Within minutes, I got a sore on the upper right side of my lip, which I have never gotten before.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Dee (Tampa, FL) on 08/31/2007
I had the same experience with Aspartame in one of those power low-carb bars. Before I finished the bar I was having incredible nerve pain shooting up in my shoulders. But still I wasn't smart enough to stop eating them and soon had stabbing pains on one side of my back (shingles)along with a rash. I checked this site and started the Apple Cider Vinegar and by the next morning the outbreak was gone. I also have genital herpes and when I first found out I had it (the 1980's) I would breakout over and over until I found out it was the Wheat Germ I was putting on my cereal every morning. For some reason eating much of whole grains to this day will cause me to OB. Now I know to avoid the artificial sweeteners too! So much for the FDA!
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by SG (Bakersfield, CA) on 08/25/2007
[Aspartame AND Arginine Connection] I wrote earlier about my experience with eight years of un-diagnosed herpes. Since then, I've been experimenting with it, and I've got complete control over it--I can make myself completely symptom-free, or cause an outbreak within 30 minutes.
THE CURES: Coconut. Yep, another vote for that one. I recently discovered Thai food, and they put coconut milk in just about everything. Taking special care to eat Tom Kha Gai (Food of the gods!) or Thai curry dishes several times a week, I've discovered that I have no need for my previous supplement: Gigartina Red Marine Algae, 1000mg (4 capsules) per day. And it's a lot more fun! To be fair, though, the Red Marine Algae works just as well.
If I want to cause an outbreak within an hour, all I have to do is not eat any coconut products for a few days, and then have a Diet Red Bull. Chock full of both Aspartame and arginine, if your doctor needs you to have an outbreak for testing purposes, this will do the trick. Drinking two of these per day sent me to the emergency room with horrible sores, and was how I discovered I had herpes. Other energy drinks (containing arginine) kept me having sores for the next few months until I realized the connection.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Arlene (Norfolk, Virginia) on 08/24/2007
I have just read the site relating to various artificial sweetener causes of herpes outbreaks. I was diagnosed over 20 years ago with Genital Herpex; having only one outbreak and only one other very mild outbreak a couple of years later. Since then, nothing. Anyway, I have been a steady and constant user of Splenda since it came out, using 5 packets for each cup of coffee. I don't drink too many sodas but do drink Crystal Lite and consume other products with Splenda. Over the past several years, I have developed this type of constant hack which comes from my throat, not my lungs. Initially my doctor said it was caused by acid reflux and I was given an upper gi to make sure I had no damage to my esophagus which showed no damage. I was told to take Prilosec but that doesn't help much either. Well, a couple of months ago, I switched back to Equal and it seems like my symptons disappeared. I have now stopped using Splenda again and the symptoms have greatly reduced. They are not totally gone, but again, I do consume Yogurt with Splenda and Cystal Lite and also the lite sugar free ice creams. I'm thinking that the Sucralose, which is the only different ingredient than that of Equal may just be the cause. Can anybody relate to this or have had similar symptoms? I'm thinking maybe its some type of lo-grade mild outbreak???
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Anonymous (USA) on 08/20/2007
I have had genital herpes for seven years and in seven years i have had maybe three or four outbreaks usually caused by extreme stress and diet, I am very fortunate. For the past month I have not been under any stress and have consumed my normal diet the only thing i did differently was add tons of splenda to my diet. I was using about 15 packs a day for lemonade and food. I noticed i started to get have more frequent outbreaks. I did not know until i read this article that artificial sweetner can cause outbreaks it all makes sense now.
