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.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Paige (Texas) on 05/11/2017
★★★★★
Hydrogen peroxide for cold sores: just keep applying 😀
Ice
Posted by Carmen (Eureka, Ca) on 04/04/2017
★★★★★
Ice on a cold sore--absolutely works. Hold it on until it aches. It will diminish the sore, or make it go away altogether. If the cold sore flares up again, ice it again.
Lemongrass
Posted by Medina (England) on 03/07/2017
★★★★★
I suffered from cold sores all my life. The slightest stress or too much sun & my lips would be covered with the painful blisters. I spent a small fortune on aciclovir & medicated cold sore plasters to manage the outbreaks & noticed my lips had developed mild scarring.
I suddenly stopped getting them, after I started using a new organic lipbalm. Very rarely I might get one above or below my lipline, but never on the lips. The ingredients of the lipbalm are: organic beeswax, organic jojoba oil, lanolin, organic mungongo oil, organic lemongrass oil, organic peppermint oil, organic rosemary oil & vitamin E.
I googled the ingredients to try to identify which was the key anti-cold sore factor and found a 2003 Japanese study on the inhibitory effects of lemongrass oil on the herpes virus, effective even at very low concentrations. Eureka!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14584615
I'm going to attempt to make my own version of lemongrass oil lipbalm as it's such a relief not to have to deal with cold sore outbreaks anymore. Hope this helps someone else too.
Zinc
Posted by Dave Of Canada (Victoria, Bc) on 02/24/2017 15 posts
Well, it's been like a month since my last post. I have to say the zinc I take has kept working all this time. The information I read suggests that people who are addicted to chocolate are often the people with exhaustion, viral problems, anxiety, racing mind, etc. and I found today that exhaustion is reducing in me! I thought the 50mg of zinc citrate I take a day was only helping a lot with cold sores, but today I did some spring cleaning, and found that I could keep cleaning rather than taking a break every 15 minutes. I haven't noticed
any increase in energy over the past month and a half, but I seem to have energy after exertion, so I guess that's an improvement in stamina.
I also found that days when I did have chocolate gave me some small amount of that unwelcome itching and redness the next day, as I had read, but I love chocolate so! I found I have much less of a reaction with powdered chocolate than with milk chocolate.
(I was so happy that I celebrated with getting some chocolate! )
I am so glad that read of this connection with zinc/copper, that I think I might try exercising and seeing if I can raise my overall energy level.
Acetone
Posted by Kcarey (Dublin, Ireland) on 02/09/2017
★★★★★
Nail varnish remover (acetone) on cotton wool held on cold sore for 10 mins a few times a day.
I cannot overemphasize how much this works; I currently have a very big very sore collection of cold sores & I tried nail varnish remover (as I read it somewhere else) & I could not believe how much it helped within an hour! It sounds drastic & it does sting a lot but the pain is over quickly & cold sore is drastically improved after 1 go!
I've tried everything in the past; taking lysine (cold sores still appeared), zovirax on first tingle (actually think moistening it made it come out not disappear), dabbing with alcohol (helps a v small bit), doing a lot of different stress management techniques to avoid triggers (sleep, exercise, eating well) all to no avail; the nail varnish remover is the only thing where I've actually seen a difference.
One thing I will say about prevention that works is not to let your lips get chapped; most of the times I get a cold sore its after my lips are v dry and chapped; they crack & then out pops a cold score.
I hope it helps someone else.
Zinc
Posted by Canadiandave (Bc) on 01/28/2017 15 posts
★★★★☆
I developed an unusual itchy red rash all over my mouth after visiting a certain restaurant, but I could have had a problem for a while. I developed a sore on the corner of each mouth only once in the 2 years since, but get the itching and redness almost every day. I used LED lights to be environmental, but had to switch back, because it made the problem much worse. So as you can see, I did not have an advanced or long term problem, but it was reduced greatly with zinc.
I read that many people with fatigue have a copper/zinc imbalance, and I thought I'd give it a try. It's only been 10 days, and no results yet on the fatigue, but the itching is virtually gone already!
This research also says that people with too high copper/too low zinc have viral problems, as zinc kills viruses in the body, with copper being better against bacteria.
I hope that's true. Not very exciting, but cleaning up my smile is a relief!
Acetone
Posted by Andie (Oregon) on 01/18/2017
Tried it. didn't work!!! Very disappointed... Made it spread. So mad!
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.
BHT
Posted by Art. (Bc Canada) on 09/08/2016
BHT if taken with other supplements will not work, as these other supplements interfere with the metabolism of BHT. Sounds like your problem.
If you feel a break out happening take the BHT again for a while. Oscar takes it every day and says it will intensify the effects of alcohol.
Art.
BHT
Posted by Zark (Emerald City) on 08/20/2016
BHT is a good choice - it kills lipid enveloped viruses, and that includes the herpes virus which causes cold sores.
Calamine Lotion
Posted by Molly (Tampa, Fl) on 08/05/2016
★★★★★
I've suffered with cold sore outbreaks all my life, and most of the treatments only make my sores worse. I think it's because gels and liquids irritate the sore rather than soothe it. Even a breeze blowing on it seems to make it worse. I had the idea once to coat my sore with calamine lotion to protect it from irritation and I was amazed at how it made my sore so much better. I have been using calamine lotion now for several years, and I have never had a full blown break out since. Now when I feel the tingling of a cold sore, I apply calamine lotion as soon as I can and it dries it up right away before it can develop into a huge sore. I have found the more pasty the lotion, the better it works. So I take a bit from the top of the bottle around the cap that is dried out some and dab it over the cold sore. It really is like a miracle cure for me. However, my sores tend to come up on the skin beside my lips rather than on the lips themselves, so I'm not sure how well the calamine would stick to your lips since they move around when you talk and eat. It is definitely worth a try though!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Maayshia D (Alabama) on 07/20/2016
Hi, umm I have a cold sore right now and so I am using Apple Cider Vinegar on my lip and it has turned white now, does this mean that its working?
Apple Cider Vinegar, Clay
Posted by Sheel (New York, Ny) on 07/08/2016
★★★★★
I just experience an amazing recovery from a recurring cold sore. In the past I have used garlic and tried acetone topically, but I noticed that moisture always exacerbated the sore for example taking a shower would be terrible. This time I figured I would dry the heck out of it so I tried using a clay mask mixed with an equal amount of ACV on my developing cold sore. I did it two times a day for two days now and slept with it on my lip overnight and the cold sore completely skipped it's "exploding with pus" stage, dried up and is healing. I hope you try this, it really worked amazingly well for me.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Sisi1109 (Montreal ) on 07/03/2016
★☆☆☆☆
I'm a bit disappointed... I have herpes on my mouth for 7 years now. Found out about hydrogen peroxide and I did it I read the book and did everything 3 drops in a 8 oz glass of distilled water 3x a day until I reach 25 drops stayed a 25 drops for 4 days and went down to 3 then stopped and I went to do a blood test to see if I still have it in my system ( I haven't got the answer yet ) but on Saturday I felt a bump on my lip and guess what it was my herpes again.... its less intense then before.. but still frustrating that I still have it :( :(
Ear Wax
Posted by Angela (Wyoming) on 06/23/2016
★★★★★
Alright you all need to try ear wax for a cold sore. I had a huge one on my bottom lip. I tried 1/2 bottle lysine, acetone, salt, honey, abreva, toothpaste and many many more and nothing! I then decided to try earwax. I kid you not it immediately felt better. No stinging or burning like most products did. The swelling went down in a hour and no redness. By hour 3 virus gone! It you are at your wits end please try this or do when it first tingles. Wash hands really really good. Don't use same finger that touched sore in ear please!! Do this upon the first tingle and keep doing it until no tingle. It really is a true miracle!!! Thank you God for having a free remedy to get rid of these nasty things from the devil.
Ice
Posted by Joy (Zimbabwe) on 06/19/2016
★★★★★
I used to suffer terribly with cold sores, until I discovered that holding an ice cube on my lip directly over the tell-tale "tingle" that I came to dread!!! Hold it there until the cube has melted, and hey presto, no more tingle and no outbreak!! This discovery has revolutionised my life... perhaps a bit dramatic, but it sure feels wonderful to no longer suffer with a dreaded fever blister!! :)
BHT
Posted by Cris01us (Hawaii) on 06/18/2016
★★★★★
I have been taking BHT for a year now and haven't had an actual outbreak since. In 2015 I had three in the course of 6 months, which is the most I've ever had in that amount of time. Now here's the disclaimer, I've had what I thought were the tell-tale signs of one coming on (you know that little bit of irritation). Now this could be paranoia and nerves or an actual outbreak, I never am 100% sure. Anyway, I always up my regular 250mg dose of BHT to 500 or even 1000mg (never more), apply some Lemon Balm to the suspect area and ta-da, and up all my other vitamins (L-Lysine too) and it never comes to fruition. Maybe one of these times I will be brave and just stick with the 250mg of BHT and see what happens (too bad my outbreaks last at least 2 full weeks! )!?
Acetone
Posted by Ethnie (Fl) on 05/26/2016
Thank you for speaking about the Chicken Pox...it clarified my outbreak
Colloidal Silver and Aloe Vera
Posted by Rianne (Canada) on 03/27/2016
★★★★★
I woke up one morning with a large "cauliflower" cold sore on my upper lip. I could also feel that it was sore and still growing. I broke out my colloidal silver gel (1:1 mixture of aloe vera gel and 10 ppm colloidal silver), and was amazed to watch it shrink to nothing in 4 he's, with repeated applications of a small amount of the gel! It usually requires a 7 day healing time. wow! I have found my answer to my cold sores now. Thank you, Earth Clinic, for everything I've learned here for I had never even heard of Colloidal silver before this site. Thank you again.
Gluten-Free Diet
Posted by Sc (U.s.a) on 02/01/2016
★★★★★
I used to get cold sores ALL the time. when I went gluten free I have had none . I know if I even get a tingle something has happened in my diet!
Coconut Oil, Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Sharon (Pennsylvania) on 01/25/2016
★★★★★
Love the coconut oil for cold sores. So much better relief than anything I've tried. Also used tea tree oil this time soaked into a q-tip. But I think the coconut oil worked first. Love both for cold sores.
Acetone
Posted by Concerned (Georgia ) on 01/12/2016
★★★★★
I have suffered from cold sores ever since I was in elementary school. I am currently 20 years old. I usually get cold sores once a year. But this past year (2015), I got two of them. To top that off, I got one at the beginning of the new year. These are the WORST. I have tried nearly everything. This past time I had a cold sore, I read on the internet that nail polish remover really works. And man was that right! I caught mine before it got too bad.
I put the acetone on it once every hour of the day. Hold it for 20 seconds, IT WILL BURN! But it works. The next morning, my cold sore was almost gone. It wasn't even noticeable! I continued the process of applying acetone every hour of the day until it was gone.
It also helps to take the vitamin L-lysine. I also drink plenty of milk when I have cold sores, because milk also contains lysine.
I hope this was helpful!
Acetone
Posted by Ed (Seattle, Wa) on 01/01/2016
★★★★★
My diet is somewhat acidic. I would experience cold sore attacks every other week. I stopped taking daily multivitamins due to high L-arinine content of solid multivitamin pills. I have been eating roman lettuce, green cabbage, carrots and other vegetables every day starting this summer.
I had only 1 instant of tingling and reddish color on my lower lip where cold sores would appear before. Tingling, inflammation and skin redness went away in minutes after applying acetone.
