Acetone for Cold Sores

5 star (62) 
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4 star (1) 
  1%
3 star (1) 
  1%
1 star (7) 
  10%

Rick (Des Plaines, Il) on 11/30/2014:
1 out of 5 stars

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).
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Sabrina (Toronto, Canada) on 11/26/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

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.
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Ems (Uk) on 10/31/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

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.
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Mia (Formerly Of Lyons, Now Syracuse) on 12/17/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

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.

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Lisa H. (Santa Barbara, Ca) on 11/18/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

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.

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Josephine (Uk) on 10/20/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

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.
REPLY   5      

Fmb (Vancouver) on 08/09/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

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!

REPLY   4      

Ed (Kent, Wa) on 06/16/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

Acetone works. I am 59, and have suffered from cold sores all my life. The last 2 years were the worst. I get irritation in the right eye, then irritation around the nose as the early signs of a virus attack when my body immune system is week. One never knows the status of one's immune system, but sometimes there might be early signs.

I take Famciclovir when the irritation starts and apply apple cider vinegar to my lips at work, or Acetone with a cotton Q-tip at home. I figure the complicated use and smell of Acetone at work might draw the attention of co-workers.

Here is what I have learned,
1- Stress life is present all the time.
2- Acidic foods help virus activation.
3- Do not eat fruits or too much meat. Meats including fish and specially shell fish are very acidic. Fruits are acidic and have lots of sugar that contributes to virus activation and growth.
4- Do not drink coffee or tea. Do not eat chocolate.
5- Do not eat animal products more than 3 times a week.
6- Eat green leafy and root vegetables.
7- Lime or lime juice is the best. Include a lime in your daily diet.
8- Eat a cucumber and a tomato every day, or make a cucumber, tomato and onion salad with a fresh lime juice and some cayenne pepper part of you daily diet.

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Lilli (Kenmore, Wa) on 03/15/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

My thanks for another wonderful and effective remedy from the Earth Clinic forum.

Every time I have a cold I get a runny nose. From all the wiping and irritation I develop a cold sore... In my nose!!! They are always painful and last a long time. I tried all the OTC products, they only cover up the sore and keep it moist; the exact opposite of what I should have been doing.

A few days ago, I took a q-tip and swabbed all the small blisters in my nose with acetone. I did this once an hour for 3-4 hours. The first thing I noticed was that the throbbing pain went away. I continued to apply the acetone throughout the day. Before bedtime, most blisters had dried up. I applied it once more before I went to bed. Then next day there were no more blisters.

Three days later, the skin is a bit red and needs to heal. I am using a combination of 100% aloe covered with antibiotic salve because I still have the cold and want to protect the area.

Thanks again for the great advice!

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Micah (Augusta, Ga) on 12/08/2012:
5 out of 5 stars

I've used the acetone nail polish remover method twice in the last year. The first time I used it I had already had the cold sore on my lip for three days so it was pretty gnarly looking but I went ahead and did the acetone treatment anyway and it was almost 100 % healed within a few days when normally it would have taken two weeks. This time, I used the acetone as soon as I felt the cold sore and two days later its almost completely healed. It never got huge and super red and scabby. I am definitely a huge fan of this method.

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