Cold Sore Relief: Top Natural Remedies

Bicarbonate of soda for cold sores:

Been having cold sores all my life but it effects me more now as I have fallen in love. Massive cold sore came up yesterday (Thursday )above my lip found this site and made the paste put it on the sore and it went down within an hour. I covered my whole face with it and my skin is so soft and glowing now thank you so much

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I get cold sores and usually I use hydrogen peroxide or nail polish remover and they dry up and heal in about a week. This time I had them for at least 8 weeks and nothing was working. A friend had recommended Carmax, so I decided a different approach was needed. After a couple of days using Carmax, I looked at the ingredients (camphor 1.7 and phenol .44) and noted that they were close to Vicks Vaporub. Checked the label and the Vicks was similar, just higher concentrations. I decided to put Vicks on my sores. I finally got some relief and they started to heal. First, I liked the feeling of Vicks. That familiar tingle seemed to counteract the annoying tingle of the cold sore. In fact, any time I felt a cold sore tingle, I would put Vicks on to have what I felt to be a healing tingle. Within a week they were healing.

Other thing I found that helps is lemon balm. Take leaf and rub on sore and drink in tea. About 5-6 leaves, crush a bit to release active ingredients.

This is the first time I've commented on here but I was compelled to write because of the success of using garlic, ice and coconut oil for my cold sore. I woke up in the night to feel a bump and tingle on my top lip, I immediately applied Zovirax but by the morning the sore was already blooming. I iced the sore for 10 minutes at a time, four times in the day and applied garlic for 15 seconds in between, putting a layer of VOC after each time. It's the smallest and the quickest recovery I've ever had from a CS.

I had an out break yesterday of genital herpes. I have been suffering for two years now. As when an out break occurs I end up trawling the net for anything to make my situation better. I read this last night about the earwax and was kind of interested. I applied it to the blisters this morning and within 3 hours noticed a significant change in my situation. Almost no pain. Within 6 hours all the blisters where the earwax had been had vanished not giving any a chance to burst and therfore not having to go through the whole scab healing process which totally sucks and is probably the worst part. By this evening it is as if I had never had an outbreak. This has taken maybe 10 days off the whole cycle which is a god send. I am actually still totally stunned at how effective and quick this has worked. TOTALLY RECOMMENDED. Better than anything from the doctor and health food shops by a mile. Natrual and free. Thank you to this site and all who have posted here. This is a game changer. :-)

Traditionally, when our family….I'm speaking of the one in which I was raised…..encountered a really bad sessions with the flu, when 1200 mg of Vitamin C and 24 hours of rest didn't make a dent in the onslaught, Mom would brew up with a tea of oregano and other spices, the taste of which would make one's hair stand on end, but would turn the corner on the ailment!

So, it comes as no great revelation to find you dosing yourself with an oregano extract. However, the diatomaceous earth is merely a “deposit, ” if you will, of the oil, much like it is used to ensconce oily nitro-glycerin, in dynamite.

It keeps the oil against ones face. This is a topical application to a sore, from what I see you describing. Might I suggest an ozonated olive oil? As a salve, it stays on the site to which it was applied.

If properly made of an organic, extra virgin olive oil, the portion against the skin melts into a fine, deeply penetrating oil, carrying the ozone, with which it combined, to wherever it travels.

Its highly oxidative nature wreaks havoc against topical pathogens. Use it straight; don't dilute it because of the smell. One becomes accustomed to it.

You'll find a dab placed upon most any sore, hastens its healing markedly. It does not “cure” the cause, if it's internal. But it will allow the unhindered healing of the lesions that form.

Try it! I think you'll be surprised at it efficacy and how long such a small amount lasts!

I'd like to add, yes higher strengths of oregano or olive leaf helps greatly. I would post what I use but I don't think I can. I'd like to add I use it with a product called diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a product that attacks parasites please please please research it u may like it. I've tried a bunch pf different products and some seem to work for a while and then I get stressed or drunk and pow it was back. I stumbled on diatomaceous earth from a website that had higher doses of a lot of good products but was to pricey. So I found the same strength cheaper online and gave it a try. I mixed DE with water and Olive leaf and did that 5 times that day. I think I did to much at once , because the next day I felt a tingling around my spine and burning and intense itching sensation at the back of my legs. I showered and used Food grade peroxide all over my body. and withen hours the itching and burning stopped and the sores went away. I kept doing the Olive leaf and DE daily it happened again maybe a week later much smaller and less intense, I did the same process in the shower with the peroxide. Everything had stopped again. I believed it to be the products pushing the virus to the surface. fast forward 8 months of doing this daily I havent had the slightest itch burning sensation etc. I recently added probiotics as that extra immune boost to keep me healthy but yeah. I just wanted to share my experience 8 months no issues when I use to have it at least twice a month.

Eat lots of flounder.

I was at work one night and could feel the tingling start. Unfortunately, I had 8 more hours until I could get home to my Oil of Oregano, so the sore came up. I immediately put on 2 drops of undiluted oil and within mere hours, the sore was healing!! The blister balloon had deflated and the pain was mostly gone. I knew Oil of Oregano was good, but even I am blown away by how good it is!

A drop or 2 of Oil of Oregano applied directly to my cold sore (lip), using a clean cotton swab, upon onset, stop growth dead in it's tracks! What would normally take 7-10 days to fester and heal now takes only 3 days!

This works at the first sign of a sore, quickly and every time.... ICE.... Take a cloth so your fingers don't freeze off, wrap it around a cube of ice. Place the ice directly on the sore. You can move it around the surrounding area, as well. Leave it there until you can't stand it anymore....then do it again....at often as you have time to during one day's time....

I promise you it will go away. The ice does not bother me, I'm used to it, you will too knowing the sore will be gone by evening. This works for me everytime, been doing this for YEARS!

Cold sores, the virus is highly contagous, when the blister is present, also you have a viral shedding once a year, no sign, but contagious. try DMSO and lugol's solutition in a spray bottle, ( lugol's solutition is a mixture of potassium, and iodine) 50/50 mix, this will take care of just about any infection, iodine is very powerful antiseptic, also myrrh oil or oil of wild oregano. Also when you have a blister it's a clear sign that your immune system is down so try to build up your immune system (vit c).

I have been using Retin-A for wrinkles. Problem is that everytime I use it, I break out in a cold sore. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I am sick of it and was driven to try the nail polish thing again so I bought some today because taking L-Lysine wasn't touching this one. My lip was so swollen it wasn't funny. Then, another started to pop out in a different after I started to use the nail polish.

I had to use it more than a couple times. I have been putting it on with a cotton bud every hour or so by dabbing it until the cotton ball dries out . I haven't just let it sit there for five minutes because I don't really want to breathe the fumes in. So I dab it, breathe, dab it, etcetera until it dries out and then I do it again a bit later when the thing tries to moisten back up.

It is working because I am diligently attacking it.

The thing is already crusting over after one day and normally it would take five days to get this stage. I will definitely keep putting the acetone on until it is all dried up and gone.

I am also taking L-Lysine, which wasn't really working that well, along with Vitamin C. I am planning to continue to do both as a daily preventative.

Can you add Peppermint to the cold sore remedy list? I know it works.

Herpes: Bee propolis applied topically significantly shortens the duration of the outbreak. Be careful: it permanently stains textile!

When I was in Nepal earlier this year I got a cold sore and I was staying a top a mountain, a three hour return trip to a pharmacy. I had failed to pack any zovirax, which has been successful in the past, so my friend and I went digging through our first aid kits and came up with alcohol swabs! Ah huh!!

After the first swipe, the burning started, but it was that good burning like you can feel the virus shrinking away from it as fast as it can kind of burning. It took about three days of day with the alcohol wipes every couple of hours to turn it completely around and kill it.

I have subsequently found acetone to work faster and be more effective, but if you are working with what you have available in a first aid kit - I can 400% recommend the alcohol swabs!

Thank you - Earth Clinic folks. The acetone works miracles! I awoke with that dreaded tingling feeling and tried using an 11 month old tube zovirax to no effect for the first half a day the cold sore just kept growing - and getting redder and itchier.

Then I jumped on earth clinic - and remembered the acetone trick. Thank goodness, the tingling stopped, it dried out and started to recede within 48 hours. It is taking a while to heal but is continuing to get smaller and smaller.

Chocolate is my #1 cold sore trigger. Each outbreak I have had in the past few years can be traced back to the effect of an overindulgence. Well THIS time I have learnt my lesson for sure.

Just wanted to say that acetone for nose ulcers work very well. Just just a cotton bud dipped it into acetone and applied to the sore for one minute. I did this every moring and niht for two days.. The tinggling sensation went after the second application. Thank you Earth Clinic.

Have anyone tried bitter almonds on cold sores. I have now been eating them for half a year and have no outbreak of cold sores.Also I mix some bitter almond oil with sweet almond oil and rub it on my lips every night. You can also use 100% bitter almond oil but it burns like hell

As soon as I feel or see a cold sore developing, I put some aloe vera toothpaste on, (the kind you can buy in any healthfood shop), and leave it on overnight. It's normally gone by morning. This also helps with other sores and blemishes. It helps to dry them up and, although tingly at first, feels very healing.

Thanx for your post, Jess.

Cleaning out the cupboard, I cooked a can of chicken noodle soup said to be 25% less sodium, but I made the critical mistake (forgot) that the sodium is monosodium glutamate. I also took three different kinds of pharmaceutical medications w/ this meal, and developed a reaction that lasted about 24 hrs with side effects lasting one week latter. My liver, intestines, and heart were most affected and my BP spiked considerably. Am working and hoping to avoid any long-term damage (as I also have major environmental toxicity issues). Those hidden dangers.

I just realized I drank a diet snapple by accident yesterday. I never eat or drink diet anything. I came down with a cold sore a few hours latter. I think there is much truth to this.

Thanks! For cold sores I tried ALL of the home remedies, heavy drugs and L Lysine for prevention for years..... Nothing worked. Read here and on the genital herpes site that Orange, Grapefruit and Cranberry Juice causes outbreaks. Past years would have on average of 8 major occurrences per year. Stopped drinking these juices and had 1 minor occurrence in the past 2 years (side-note, the last two years have been anything but stressless so its not due to a low stress levels)."

Cold Sores: Tried ALL of the home remedies, drugs and L Lysine for prevention..... Nothing worked. Read on the genital herpes site that Orange, Grapefruit and Cranberry Juice causes outbreaks. Past years would have on average of 8 major occurrences per year. Stopped drinking these juices and had 1 minor occurrence in the past 2 years (side-note, the last two years have been anything but stressless so its not due to a low stress levels).

Beware of using hemorrhoid creams. Many contain Hydrocortisone, a steroid that reduces inflammation. It does this by reducing the immune response in that area. This is exactly the opposite of what we want to achieve. Clinically tested products like an infrared device work by enhancing the immune response, not suppressing it. Using a hydrocortisone cream in any viral, fungal or bacterial infection is likely to have dire consequences.

The ingredient that may assist in healing is zinc, contained in some hemorrhoid creams. It is also available in many other forms (nappy rash creams, for example) which do not contain Hydrocortisone.

YEA Acetone really does work - it's amazing. I wanted to explain a few details I experienced with the acetone treatment.

I've been getting cold sore outbreaks for about 15 years now - I'm 39 - I found that taking 1000mg Lysine daily has kept me free of outbreaks for 4 years - I ran out, didn't take lysine for only 2 days and BAM my upper lip had the start of BIG nasty large vesicles - Couldn't believe it - no prodrome tingling, no warning. It was slightly obsured by my moustache so I didn't really notice it right away. This one just by the initial size was gonna be a major disaster.

I read all the miracle stories about it, so I tried the acetone on a cotton swab placed directly onto the sore for 5min at a time every 30min for the first day. To stop evaporation I used clear packing tape to press the swab right onto the sore. Don't be afraid to PRESS the acetone into the sore - it will burn bad but it's like you can also feel the acetone destroying the HSV inside.

The next morning I woke up and I thought Lisa Rinna's plastic surgeon had snuck into my bed and plumped up my lip with silicone - It was HUGE, I actually laughed in the mirror because it looked so ridiculous. However, the sore had gone directly to scab healing stage.

The following morning the swelling had almost completely gone and after my shower the scab had worn off and the final pink healing scab remained. So literally 48 hours from the start of what was to be a colossal large sore on my lip it's already to the point of what normally takes about 10 days to get to.

1000mg Lysine daily is the long-term cure you want to get on - but if you miss a Lysine and one pops up Acetone is what you need 100% - Do not even bother with anything else and start it as soon as you see or feel one coming on.

Acetone is also totally safe for your skin - read up about it on wikipedia - It's even used as a food additive!

Hi there, I will copy Ted From Bangkok's latest info for combatting Herpes Virus (latest I can find is 2012).

07/31/2012: Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Yes, that is a weak remedy. I might try a stronger one, with BHT 500 mg, twice a day, lysine 1000 every hour for 4 hours once a day, and vitamin C 500 mg five times a day, for a month. You can also take the lysine twice a day, for four hours twice a day, with threonine, 500 mg at same time taken with lysine. There is a more powerful remedy than that, but I believe starting with the weakest one and gradually increasing strength is the safest way to go. Lithium is also antiviral and is taken at 5 mg a day before sleep and so is Lugols, but that's another remedy.

Ted"

-- Source: https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/herpes_questions.html

I have gotten cold sores for approximately 7 years. They started spreading all over my lips - but the ones that were new were not tingling like they originally did and came without warning. I was taking so much aciclovir and valciver. Then... I got exceedingly itchy blisters on my fingers, followed by unbelievable swelling in that finger. The pain is intense and the itchiness – OMG! (Apple cider vinegar helped alleviate these side effects - Thanks to you on Earth Clinic) I had a bout of this on my fingers for 4 months. I could not use my hands. I thought it was herpes whitlow. What cleared it up was when I was on a diet of only rice with fried vegetables – no flavorings or soy sauce added. The problem cleared up in about 5 days! Both my fingers and lips. Simultaneously, I had a brain fog clear up and anxiety that had been thwarting me for about 2 years. I then found out I am completely unable to eat Gluten. I guess the rash thing is a form of Dermatitis Herpetiformis (NOT HERPES! ) which is a consequence of not being able to tolerate gluten. (I still got the original and authentic Herpes cold sore that tingles - but it comes much less often as I take Lysine daily and it seems to come less often now that my body is not fighting the "poison" that I was eating previously). Before I had that authentic cold sore almost every 2 weeks. I am also unable to have most additives to food, and food that is GMO or treated with pesticides. For the last 3 months I have been strictly eating only at and home and it has stayed clear. I eat 100% organic, gluten free and no longer eat packaged food.

I'm curious to know if ingesting or inhaling H2O2 really works to eradicate the HSV 1 virus. So far, I've read annecdotal comments about its effectiveness but haven't heard of any real studies that confirm this. What is the science behind it and have you been tested negative since undergoing your treatment?

Have you had another test done recently and was it a blood test? What did your low-carb diet consist of exactly?

Did you have genetal or oral herpes?

YEA to garlic, ice and honey for cold sores. I tend to get cold sores on my lips when I'm run-down and haven't been sleeping and/or eating very well. I usually don't get a tingling sensation until after the little monster rears it ugly head, the only sign I have to go off is dry, chapped lips, which can easily be attributed to the winter weather.

Noticed the tiny, tingly/itchy bump when I woke up a yesterday and freaked out because I'm volunteering at a week-long event starting tomorrow and didn't want a massive blister in the centre of my bottom lip. I usually use Zovirax but that usually takes over a week to heal and even then has left small blemishes/scars.

I read on another site about the garlic remedy and decided to test it out. Cut a clove of garlic in half and crushed it to release the juices, then held it over the bump for about thirty seconds. Burned like no tomorrow, but the tingling sensation was gone and never came back. Once the burning sensation had died, I soaked some paper towel and dabbed it clean before applying honey. Repeated every few hours. Next day, no blister! Just a small scab that's a good half or third the size of my usual sores.

Came here to see what other natural remedies could be added to the program, but I don't fancy the idea of popping or invading the wound to apply solutions for fear of infection and chemical solutions like acetone or hydrogen peroxide scare me. At any rate, I now use a clove of garlic, followed by a cube of ice, dab it dry and then add a touch of honey, applied every couple of hours. Swelling is pretty much non-existent and there is no tingling or itchiness at all. From the looks of things it'll be gone in a day or two! (Fastest recovery time ever! )