Fast Cold Sore Remedies: What Really Works Naturally

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by David (Los Angeles, CA) on 01/15/2008
★★★★★

Well.. it's official.. this last week, what I thought was a zit on my chin, slowly turned into a large festering herpes wound. How fun for me. I don't need a biopsy to know, it's herpes. I've had a bit of a bout with swollen lymph nodes, fever, and overall yuck. I didn't see a doctor because it was the weekend and I wanted to see if it would go away for a day or two. I usually take chinese herbs at the first sign of a cold and never get fully sick, but this lasted more than 24 hours so I new it was something different. As always when something comes up medically I try to research online to feel empowered. I'm here to mention the wonders of Apple Cider Vinegar. My festering wound over a couple of days turned into a giant scab a top a large red mound that seemed to be competing with my nose for who could stick out the farthest. I had read that this was the period when it would heal because it's scabbed but who the hell wants to walk around with a scab on their face. Anyway, this morning after I decided I could no longer look at this awful scab on my chin I used tweezers to remove it hoping it had had enough time to heal beneath. Well, it didn't. Immediately it started oozing and breathing and winking as if to laugh at my naivet'e. I think I even heard it growl once but that may have been the dog next door. Well, long story too long, I decided to use apple cider vinegar on the wound. I just kept pouring it on my chin letting it air dry fully, then any ooze got dabbed off with tissue and then another pour and air dry. After about maybe 10 or so times going through this the gaping wound finally gave up it's relentless fight and went dry with out needing to scab. Victory was mine. The rest of the day it has significantly reduced and I feel like I can almost show my face to the world without being embarrassed. The real problem with the herpes virus is it's friggin' ugly.. If it gets to the point of being an open wound, apple cider vinegar will heal it faster. I've also drank a cap full 3 times today mixed with apple juice. That plus vitamins and L-Lysine for the past couple days may have been helping, but the scabby, woundy part is healed because of straight apple cider vinegar poured on it. I'm confident that I will know the signs earlier next time and use other remedies to catch it BEFORE it becomes the messy roommate living on my face that it became this time. Knowledge is power. Thanks for letting me share in the posters knowledge and to now add mine. Peace.

Vicks

Posted by Cherry (Powder Springs, Georgia) on 03/03/2008
★★★★★

Vicks Vapor Rub or Carmex never fails to stop the development of a cold sore. I only get the itch indicating a cold sore is coming once or twice a year. As soon as I feel that itch I put a gob of vicks or carmex on it and it stops itching immediately and never develops into the sore. I thinks it's the camphor and menthol that cures.

L-Lysine, Nail Polish Remover

Posted by Michelle (Brooklyn, N.Y.) on 04/01/2008
★★★★★

I have been suffering from cold sores since I was a kid. As long as I wear sunscreen on my lips when I leave the house day or night I do not get them. Occasionally I forget, and that is what happened a week ago. I decided to try this wonderful site and tried the lysine pill and the nail polish remover. Now I do not know which one worked but that nasty cold sore was completly gone in 2 days. This has NEVER happened before. I am so glad this site exist. I will no longer worry when I get a cold sore because i now found an instant cure. I will use both remedies since I do not know which one worked and I also take one lysine pill a day. Thanks!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Shandra (Sacramento, CA) on 06/10/2007
★★★★★

About seven years ago I dated a guy who came with a prize, undisclosed to me! Within the first month I was breaking out. The first time was the worst; I experienced pain like no other, I quickly proceeded to visit my doctor who wasted no time to diagnose me with this lovely virus. I was getting large embarrassing blisters round my mouth at least 4-5 times a year and I would have genital outbreaks about 10 times a year... I seriously went into depression, gained weight and stopped having a life. I was embarrassed knowing that I could never address the issue with a potential counterpart and of course I could not be irresponsible, as the guy who was irresponsible with me. What have I done? How have things changed in my life? Well number one, I started a regular exercise program. I run 3-4 times a week. I topped eating processed meals - (no restaurants, no fast food, no packages, no cans, no boxes, and no microwave popcorn, nothing out of a package, nothing frozen). So what am I eating? I eat fruits all day, until I gag. I eat Vegetables all day, until I gag. I eat oats and whole wheat, in the form of "old fashioned oatmeal", "wheat bread" 'brown rice", you get the picture. I eat meat two to three times a week, mostly chicken and once or twice a month I eat fish. I keep beef to a minimum. I eat a variety of mixed nuts. . these are RAW nuts . almonds, peanuts with skin, cashews, sunflower, flax seed, pumpkin seed . you get the idea. I stopped drinking wine, coffee, tea and I stopped smoking. I drink water all day long, till I gag. I drink 8oz of milk daily and I drink home made smoothies and juices and vegetable juice. I take prenatal vitamins (I am not pregnant). Since, I am a girl and I have sugar cravings. guess what. there is honey. I use natural honey on toast, on my Oatmeal, in my milk.you get the idea.

I try to exclude white table sugar, white table salt, white flour, sodium, cholesterol, fats. But I don't count the natural sugars in fruits and the oils in the nuts. The only thing I really track is my protein intake; I try to make sure I have enough protein daily. (Protein is balanced according to ones height, weight, gender, activity level)

Since I started paying attention to my body, eating what my body needs, dinking what my body needs and taking all the vitamins that my body needs: I have not had an outbreak in over one year. ALSO, I have lost weight, I feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. At 43, I feel that I am in GREAT shape! Of course I still need to overcome my fears of having a difficult conversation with the possibility of a rejection, which is something I will have to live with the rest of my life.

This seems to work for me. If you would like to try something similar please consult your doctor prior to making any changes in your diet. Good luck!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Jennifer (San Diego) on 05/25/2006
★★★★★

I haven't been able to really find any other explanations or any information regarding this on the web but I have been on a low carb diet for 2 years now. I do consume splenda and aspartame (although I try to avoid aspartame) but since starting my low carb diet I have been breakout free. Prior to going low carb I typically had 5-6 breakouts a year for the 5 prior years I had the virus. Low carb diets have an effect on how your body metabolizes splenda and aspartame which may be why these have not caused more breakouts for me. I also know that a high-protein diet is high in natural l-lysine so that may be what has helped to stop the breakouts. The amazing thing is that although I have tested positive for years, I have been tested twice in the last six months and tested negative for the virus both times, which I am told is rare, but possible. I'm not getting too excited about those results just yet - but if anyone has had a similar experience I would LOVE to know!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Deb (Dayton, OH) on 03/15/2007
★★★★★

I just wanted to add to all the great info about herpes. I have found that the greatest culprits to preceed a herpes outbreak are the consumption of chocolate and nuts (except almonds). These are high in L-arginine, so whenever I eat these things, I take some lysine to counteract the effects of the arginine. I eat a natural diet and don't get outbreaks, except when I forget to do this. It's always "oh, yeah, I had a buch of nuts yesterday!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Tanya (Darwin, Australia) on 03/13/2007
★★★★★

I was told by a conventional Western doctor he has seen huge reductions in herpes outbreaks when people stop eating chocolate, almonds and peanuts. Hopefully this, along with never touching aspartame, may help people.

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Mario (Olympia, Washington) on 10/17/2007
★★★★★

I felt my cold sore coming on like I normally do about this time of year when my core temperature drops, but because I've been changing my dieting habits I decided to fast on blended fruits and dark leafy green vegetables until it went away. The cold sore came to a head much like a pimple so I popped it and it just dissappeared. At the time I thought that perhaps it was just a pimple but now it is a few weeks later and it has reappeared as a cold sore much smaller and more towards the inner part of my mouth which has never happened in the 15 years I've had it. In fact it had spread within the last three years and I thought I had made it permanently bigger. I believe it has come back because within the last week I have eaten a lot of junky foods again. So my suggestion would be just eat fruits and vegetables either whole, blended, or juiced until the cold sore goes away. It will give your body a chance to regroup and deal with it and other ailments that you may be experiencing.