Cold Sore Relief: Top Natural Remedies

I started getting cold sores about five years ago. I get them from sun exposure and they are always on my top lip. The first time I had one it has horrendous--I didn't know what to do and it was huge and lasted for ten days. After that, I started researching and started using topical hydrogen peroxide plus DMSO. This worked pretty well most of the time, but was very time-consuming, as I had to use a q-tip and keep dabbing the solution on the spot for a half-hour at a time, multiple times a day. Last summer I was at my daughter's house in another state, working in the yard without lipstick one morning--the next day I felt the beginning of a cold sore. I started using the peroxide and DMSO but it didn't seem to be working well. I decided to try some Lypo-spheric vitamin c (which is a gel that comes in little foil packages) plus the DMSO. It worked really, really well!

Since then I have used just the Lypo-spheric vitamin c plus DMSO at least three times and the results are nothing short of miraculous. I dab a little DMSO on the spot, then add the Vit c gel and rub it in, but then add a little more gel to leave a small blob on my lip. I leave this on for as long as I can, but usually not more than 15 minutes (although if going to bed, I just leave it on and go to sleep). I might do this twice in a day. The cold sore basically does NOT develop at all. It stops it in its tracks. Recently I realized that DMSO gel (instead of the liquid) probably will work better since it's the same consistency as the vit c gel. (you can use the one package of vit c gel several times, just fold the foil over and paper-clip it in between uses)

ACV it is! Applied a soaked in Apple Cider Vinegar cotton ball on my sore and put a bandade over it and just left it there, reapplying the Apple Cider Vinegar every hour and within 2 hours the sore was dry....but kept the bandade on after that I applied aloe vera to keep it moist constantly to prevent a scap from forming bye bye sore! So happy with this! It took me 1 day!

Hi I used oil of oregano by applying it on my back n drinking it and also applying it on the leisons-genital n it causes irregular periods. The virus has started shredding and I'm clueless currently researching. Do u know an alternative way I could use the oil?

Herpes is a virus that you can draw out of the cells and dissolve. My doctor believes there are cures for all illnesses, even if it hasn't been discovered yet. I read herpes is cured by MMS. I would consider a zapper. I read that a cure was found for a serious illness and suddenly the rights purchased and mysteriously the cure is poof gone never to surface.

I didn't have any acetone to use this time and I really didn't like using it at all so I used 4,000 mg of Lysine spread out through the day, 3,000 mg of Vit C spread out through the day, and I dabbed coconut oil on the sore twice.

In ONE DAY, it was dried up with barely a tiny scab left over and this thing had seven different bubbles and felt like my lip was really ready to swell up.

I will stick with remedy FOREVER.

I have been using tea tree oil to treat cold sores for well over a decade - it has never failed me. As a child I was very susceptible to enormous cold sore breakouts and my parents tried all kinds of natural as well as not-so natural remedies to no prevail? In my early sdulthood I decided to try applying un-dilluted te tree oil & magic! Undilluted tea tree oil is very string and can even burn your skin, so it is important to be precise & apply it only to the direct affected spot, without letting it run or spread over a larger area. A doused q-tip works well. If you apply it (and re-apply it several times, ie. every hour) when you get the first tickling sensation of a cold sore coming on before it actually appears, it will never appear! If you are a bit lit and the cold sore has already shown its face, apply it, and the sore will quickly dry up and die without going through the whole itchy raw stage?

Where do you get strait acetone though. I read the ingredients in my nail polish remover and it has SOOOOO MANY other ingredients I'm afraid to put that on the sore on my lip.

Licorice is a potent antiviral and worth the recommend, but, yes, the Glycyrrhizic Acid makes it unpopular as the bad side effects of elevated Aldosterone thus sodium retention and hypertension. To reduce these side effects one can go on a very low sodium and increased potassium diet for the few days of taking Licorice.

Also, most folks take advantage of the deglyccerinated form of licorice or DGL. Therapeutic doses of DGL could be taken together w/ minimal doses of regular strength Licorice (also w/ low sodium diet) for maximum benefit and minimal side effect.

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.

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.

This is interesting. When one goes on a Ketogenic diet the body produces Ketones from your fat stores that are burned for fuel instead of glucose. One of those Ketones is Acetone. It would therefore make sense that those on Ketogenic diets would not have outbreaks. Perhaps the other ketones the body produces are equally effective against the virus.

There is one more thing that may be of interest to readers. I read somewhere else that outbreaks are tied to elevated levels of mercury in the body. I was originally infected in my late teens but then had years of never having another outbreak. Then in my mid thirties I had cavities filled for the first time in my life, the fillings were amalgam fillings containing mercury. I then experienced monthly outbreaks. I did not make the connection at that time as I was not aware of the connection between mercury and Herpes outbreaks.

For those concerned about mercury there is a cheap and effective way to chelate it from your body. That way is by consuming cilantro, otherwise known as coriander.

Another way to chelate Mercury is with a supplement called IP6, but that also chelates iron so women below the age of menopause should take precautions against anemia if they take this supplement.

I suspect that high levels of free iron in the blood also stimulate herpes outbreaks so men should avoid all "fortified" products that have ferrous sulphate in them. It would be hard to find a pasta or a flour sold retail that is not "fortified" but there are brands of rice that do not have it, usually jasmine rice in the asian food section of the market or at asian markets.

I posted a reply earlier to another comment but I think the information would be relevant to you too so I am posting it again here.

There is some evidence that an elevated level of mercury in the body is connected with outbreaks. There are ways to lower your mercury levels . One way is to take the supplement IP6, but research this yourself as it also chelates iron. Elevated levels of free iron may also contribute to outbreaks as iron displaces zinc and copper. Zinc is known to suppress the Herpes virus so reducing iron and mercury may convert you over to someone who never has another outbreak. Cilantro, otherwise known as coriander, is another very effective substance for chelating mercury and lowering your levels.

From my initial infection and a few outbreaks after that I was outbreak free for over a decade. Then in my mid thirties I had cavities filled for the first time in my life. I had frequent and sometimes sever outbreaks after that for a number of years. At some point I started taking IP6 for general health/anti aging reasons. My outbreaks ceased after that. I did not make the connection till much later when I read about mercury levels and herpes.

I would also suggest taking zinc supplements as most people are deficient.

If you have an active cold sore, please do some research on Monolaurin. This is not a quick cure, but taking monolaurin everyday for 6 months while you have an active infection, has been shown to eradicate the virus permanently. It will also heal the cold sore faster than it normally would heal.

I have terrible cold sores and hemoform serum works wonders. When applied everyday, the sores never get those ugly huge scabs. And the best part is they don't hurt. I would highly recommend this to anyone who suffers with cold sores

Warning! IF you have high blood pressure, do not use real licorice...it is known to increase your blood pressure...please try an alternate method. Thanks. :-)

IF you have high blood pressure, do not use real licorice...it is known to increase your blood pressure...please try an alternate method. Thanks. :-)

Dr. Ritu,

Could you share more details about dosage, how to take hypericun etc.? The link you provided shows research for HIV, not herpes.

I wanted to share some amazing research I came across for herpes and hypericum mysorense exhibiting significant anti-herpes activity.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=hypericin+hiv&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

I have been working with these herbs and homeopathic remedies for 3 years now and have seen many lives improved with them.

Interesting technique, but very painful. I have been cold sore free for over 30 years. Prior to using a treatment (I received from a nurse) I had sore large sores at least 4 times a year. This nurse told me to get some drinkable iodine, place 10 drops in a large glass of water, drink it up, do this for 30 days. She said the virus for this herpes lives in the pancrease and this iodine kills it. Well it worked for me. I recommend this to my friends - think they are a bit sceptical - so they may not ever use it. You may want to try this.

I have suffered from cold sores for years, mostly in my teenage years. I have used B-Complex and found that helpful to take a few times a week and my occurrences subsided. Then I discovered using Spirit of Camphor on the end of a q-tip or cotton ball helped dry them once they began. Now I strictly use L-Lysine as soon as I get an 'itchy' feeling that one is one the way. I take about 1000 mg per day for 2 days and the cold sores rarely come to a complete break out. Earlier this year I began to eat a good, healthy, balanced diet and haven't had a break out in months.. Healthy living is the best way for most issues, in my opinion.

While it could very well be herpes, mrsa, staph or some other virus... it could also be from your tissues! It took me months to figure out what was causing my nose sores - TISSUES WITH LOTION. I don't know what they are putting in those tissues with lotion, but they were causing my nose to break out inside every other day with crusty, cracky, weepy, hurty, open sores. As soon as I stopped using tissues with lotion, they cleared up.

I usually get cold sores around the time when it starts warming up or cooling down (spring and fall). I don't know why but I headed to the store today to grab some Hemoform. Long story short, the more Hemoform I spread, the more the cold sore spread. CARMEX works!

Sorry, for me acetone didn't seem to help even least. The only thing that has shown any evidence of helping me reduce the growth of a cold sore (especially if started early) is Lactoferrin (taken orally).

OMG!!! God bless the founder of this miracle. I AM ABSOLUTELY GRATEFUL IT WORKS. I woke up yesterday to the most disturbing painful sore on my lip. I used a warm green tea bag every 3 hours and pressed it against the cold sore for about 20 minutes. Later in the evening using a cotton swab I applied 100% pure Tea Tree Oil. (Please dilute with equal drops of water if you have sensitive skin) I searched the web for another home remedy and stumbled across this blog. To my surprise using the acetone for 5 minutes every 30 minutes dried up the remainder of the sore almost immediately. I felt the burning sensation but it was worth it. Thank you for this magical remedy.

Hi, read your post and really curious to know if it worked for you. I thought like we all do I suppose that I was the cold soar queen, but I see you are too. LOL... Mine come specifically with stress. I always know when it is about to come and can usually stop it with the medicine. They gave me a larger dose than I have heard normally because of how large one got once, so I get 1000mg of Valtrex. When it first starts the tingle I take 2 and if I was early enough it won't come at all.

This past week though I was away from home, knew it was coming and forgot the medicine... sure enough, BANG! However this time it is worse than it has ever been and I've had them so bad that once my lip was swollen 3" more than normal. This one goes from the middle of my upper lip two the corner of my mouth and that has never happened. Usually its one on the lip or above but this is like 4 of them together and is horrible. So I wonder did the acetone work for you??????

Wow I have never heard of using acetone! I will be incorporating this along with what I have found to be most beneficial today! I'm 51 and have suffered all my life with cold sores clear back to my grade school days! I have always considered myself as the cold sore queen! hahaha With age comes experience for what has worked best for me. At the first sign I always take a fever reducer. I take this through out the day and I even take it at night before bed. This by far has been the best way for me to attack the cold sores before they attack me at night! This has kept that god awful swelling from happening over night! Along with helping out with the pain! Thanks for the advice on the acetone can not wait to try it!

Felt the tingling early and thought I had stopped it with Zovirax but woke up this morning and it was huge. I burst it with a disinfected needle and have been pressing a cotton bud with nail polish remover into it and in 3 hours it has gone down in size by a third.

To Ted:

Ted, I would like to know your opinion on Transfer Factor. Will it kill hsv1? Is it worth the money or should I be using something more powerful for herpes?

I want to Thank You for all of your information!

Yet another cold sore. I had a bowl of chocolate ice cream and the next day a cold sore was starting. This time, I applied Tiger Balm. Tiger Balm has 25% camphor and 10% menthol and some other ingredients. Within seconds of applying, white blisters would form - I think it was the virus coming up to the surface. I would use a tissue to gently wipe away the blister fluid. The bringing up the virus to the surface and out of the skin helps the cold sore heal faster.

Garlic works!

I have had this virus since I was 5 or 6, maybe younger for all I know, but I just remember first finding out I had a cold sore. I honestly thought it was a type of cold, and I never knew there was a stigma behind them until I was about 22. Once I figured out people have the audacity to look down on people with this virus (even though they likely have it too), I became very stressed whenever I would have an outbreak. I never knew you could stop one until I researched it. Learning about garlic on this Earth Clinic website, I had to try it, especially since I usually buy too much and have it lying around for about 3 months at a time.

I hear people talking about a garlic supplement not working, but I am talking about FRESH garlic. I personally cannot chance an outbreak by using a garlic pill when I have the real deal fresh garlic. You can buy a couple of bulbs of garlic and it will last for quite some time (I've had my garlic for almost two months, and even though it may not be as pretty as new garlic, once you cut it, that fresh garlic juice is there). I just cut a small sliver (just take a knife and take a flat slice from biggest part of the garlic so it will cover a larger area, which can help kill the virus on AND around the offending area) from a clove and hold the little sliver against my lip. I do this if I feel a tingle, if I bite too much dry skin off my lip (bad habit), if I feel discomfort of any sort around my lips/mouth, or even question an upcoming outbreak, I go on and press that fresh sliver against my lip, and that is EXACTLY what you should do in those cases too.

The nice thing about garlic is that you can even use it IN the mouth, whereas many other things (i.e. alcohol, nail polish remover) cannot be used for blisters inside the mouth.

Even if you have a blister when you wake up, ice it for as long as you can to calm down the swelling and numb the lip, then immediately grab your garlic clove, cut a sliver off (save the remainder of the clove, this way, as you need more, you can keep cutting slivers off throughout the day, thus releasing more fresh juice every time you use it. ) The Garlic will send the active virus to hell where it belongs and you should notice your blister rapidly receding, as the garlic will not only obliterate the active virus, but don't lick your lips after applying the garlic, because the garlic should help dry that sucker out.

(When you get to the last possible piece of your garlic, it may be dry because there is not more garlic to cut off to release the juice. If this is the case, just gently squeeze the last piece to release the juice, and it will be good to go! )

Anytime you think, know, doubt, assume, wonder, or question rather or not a cold sore is coming, USE THE FRESH GARLIC. I recommend using it every couple of hours to ensure you won't get a breakout during times you need it, however, I've used it once on red swollen skin (the stage RIGHT BEFORE impending blister) and feel asleep, and next morning, nothing. If you fall asleep, just use more garlic next day.

WARNING: You will have to man/woman up for this, as the garlic MAY cause an extreme burning sensation as you press it on the offending area. Sometimes it barely burns, especially if my lips are not cracked or damaged, and sometimes my mouth, eyes, and nose water because it hurts so bad. But I deal with it, because it is less painful than walking around feeling like you have a black eye on your lip. Embarrassing.

Summary & Tips:

• Buy FRESH GARLIC and just keep it around. The juice inside the garlic will be there a very long time, so even old looking garlic can be cut to release juice with that power garlic "medicine."
• You only need to cut a sliver off of the garlic each time you need some garlic, as each flat sliver has the "miracle" garlic juice on it.
• If in doubt and if you have an outbreak, still use the garlic. It may even possibly kill the virus on the skin (the shedding) to help protect others or spreading to other parts of your body (please still use ALL the safety precautions that you would use if you had giant oozing blister on your mouth.)
• Carry a clove of garlic in your car, backpack, purse, etc. It may not be legal to carry a knife (especially if minors and/or anyone at an educational institute), so carry something that can help you release the juice from the garlic. Plastic knife, spoon, even a sanitized filer on nail clippers.
• Don't forget to brush your teeth! You don't know how many people admit they forgot to brush their teeth the day/night before an outbreak. The virus loves moist and unclean. Also, avoid toothpastes with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (sls), as it is believed to cause outbreaks.
• You may want to gargle with peroxide to kill the viruses that may be throwing a party in your mouth. I also take a piece of cotton, paper towel, or even toilet paper (anything disposable) and put some peroxide on it, and clean my lips and mouth area to also help remove any shedding I may not be aware of.
• In between outbreaks, always keep lips moist with something that helps prevent outbreaks. Something with lysine, an antiviral essential or even some balm that if for cold sores. Just use something to help keep these at bay.

Thanks to everyone who sticks around to read this long post.

Good look and be happy!

Inez from Kent UK. Inez, I too suffered from cold sores till I started taking baking soda mixed with water in the morning on an empty stomach. I have 1/2 teaspoon baking soda with a cup of water four to five days a week. I have not had one outbreak since I started years ago. there is much written on the subject here on EC. It works, it's cheap and I feel great.