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Acetone for Cold Sores

5 star (62)		87%
4 star (1)		1%
3 star (1)		1%
1 star (7)		10%

Girlie Girl (Unknown, Pa) on 03/06/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

Yes, it works! I had a fever blister pop out last week and I stayed in the house for 5 days. I missed work 3 of those days. I read about the acetone at that time, but was a little afraid to try it out. Soon as my blister was healed and I was ready to get back to my life again.... Another very small one started to appear. I was very upset because I missed so much time from work already, I felt I had to try the acetone treatment. I applied with a Q-tip, held it on for 10-30 sec's. I did that for most of the day and this morning it is completely dried out.

To help avoid them take lysine & Vitamin C. Go to Herpe Nutrution website to find out what things are good to eat and have Lysine in them. I hadn't had one in 4 years until I ate Pumkin Seeds... Stay away from these... I hope this helps...

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Jlrc (Buffalo, New York) on 01/02/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

Opened my eyes on New Year's Day 2011 to find a large cold sore forming under my nose. AHHH, the horror. It was already bubbling up and the size of a dime. Over the years I have found when there is a serious temperature shift, from 15 degrees to 55 degrees in a day, that's when I get a break out. So yes, it was a balmy New Year's Eve and I get rewarded with a break out. For years I would get a sore and immediately apply ammonia to the tingling spot. Sometime it would deactivate a break out, sometimes not. Given the bubbles had already erupted I knew I needed an alternative solution because ammonia at this point would still allow for a 1 week heal time.

I read on Earth Clinic about acetone therapy. WOW!! It's working. I applied acetone to the sore via Q-tip several times that day and allowed it to evaporate. When I awoke this morning, the sore had dried up considerably and is hardly red. It appears the acetone has shorted the 2 week herpes life cycle to 1-2 days. I am so thankful this remedy works. I plan to apply acetone several times today for good measure. Acetone works far better than ammonia on killing this virus. Give it a try, you will be shocked.

Coopbkc (Kansas City, Mo, Usa) on 10/08/2010:
5 out of 5 stars

Thanks everybody on here so much. Earth clinic is amazing; I always check it first and have managed to avoid getting a prescription for anything for over 3 years (funny because I am applying to med school but avoid doctors at all costs). I have had only a few cold sores my entire life, but a few days ago I felt tingling in my lip and went to the bathroom and saw my lip was a little red and slightly swollen. I freaked out. I have a big weekend planned visiting my friends and a guy I just met. Having a cold sore was out of the question. I got on here and saw the acetone remedy. I am finishing my degree in Chemistry and have had quite a bit of contact with acetone and knew that it would work as a powerful disinfectant/drying agent. Also, to everybody that was shocked/worried about acetone, it is produced naturally in very small quantities in the body. Certainly don't make a martini with it, but a couple q-tip's full over a few days shouldn't be harmful assuming you're not allergic. By the time I got home, I had a small sore on my upper lip and my bottom lip had a swollen area the size of a marble (ahh! ). I used a q-tip and applied acetone a few times an hour all night. The next morning the top sore had dried out and scabbed and the bottom was less swollen but still showing signs of blistering. I continued with the acetone in the morning and abreva/acetone throughout the day. I did not use any moisturizer/chapstick because I wanted the infection to dry out. Its now only two days into the outbreak, my bottom lip is normal sized and has scabbed below the surface, the top lip has no scab and is pink and healing well. I am so happy. Its hardly noticeable. By tomorrow, I anticipate I will be back to normal. I have started using Vaseline to moisturize and speed up healing. A little acetone is sooooooo much better than the two week embarrassment I faced last time I had a cold sore. This has almost cleared up in 48 hours and this was the worst (biggest) outbreak I have had. Thank you again.

Mike (Denver Area, Colorado) on 08/25/2010:
5 out of 5 stars

I just wanted to thank you guys for giving me this tip on acetone. I was extremely skeptical but my last breakout terrible. When I saw a situation developing on my lip this time I freaked out and knew drastic action was gonna be required or I was gonna be out of commission for a month like last year. No good. Usually what happens is I get one herpes and then all h*ll breaks loose. My entire chin and lips get covered within 3 days. And inside my mouth as well... It's very bad. This time I read this thread and took immediate action. I took a cotton (make up remover disc) and put acetone on it. I then held it directly on the infected area. I did this several times per day (5 to 10 times) until it was gone. Here's the thing. My chin and lips were "ready" to have a major breakout but I kept dabbing the acetone anywhere I thought something was about to happen throughout the day... I highly recommend that because it saved me MUCH embarassment. Inside my mouth was terrible but the more vitamin C I took the more relief I got. Not a noticeable difference with Lysine. One note, as soon as you even think you have something developing on your face, dab it with acetone. And you know a difference between a pimple and a "cold sore". Thanks again everyone!

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Jazzy103 (Yardley, Pa) on 07/31/2010:
5 out of 5 stars

I applied 100% acetone on onset of my oral herpes and much to my surprise it worked!! I suffer from breakouts 1-2 times per month and have tried many things with no success of stopping a full blown blister. I kept applying acetone about every half hour on the first day and about every hour on the second day, then a few times per day until I was sure it was gone. I only experienced some redness and dryness but no ugly yellow blisters!!!! I hope this can help someone who is suffering from this agressive and ugly virus!!

David (New York City, Ny) on 05/03/2010:
5 out of 5 stars

Acetone Nail Polish Remover is now my best friend. It works wonders! As soon as you start getting that tingly feeling, put some on with a q-tip or some cotton swab. It burns a bit. But you can really feel it work. I kept doing this for about 5 minutes every couple of hours and what used to be a cold sore from hell that lasted at least two weeks is now a tiny mark that lasted only a couple of days. This really works! Thank you SO much!

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Den (Katy, Texas, Usa) on 02/25/2010:
5 out of 5 stars

First of all I love this website!

I recently had a GV outbreak after going almost 1 year without. I immediately came to this website. Looking at the last days before I felt the terrible tingling. I tried a new sweetener. Didn't like and only drank half the cup, but it was enough!!! I have been working on getting off of sugar. So I knew the only change was the artificial sweetener! NEVER AGAIN! So it was the very next day I woke up with the tingling. I dabbed a cotton ball with Acetone Polish Remover and held it to the area. OMG!! It burned!!! After the initial shock, it felt better. For the next 3 days I did this 2 times a day. I never had a full outbreak. By day 4 it was gone!!!! Thanks Earth Clinic!!

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Dan (Denver, Colorado) on 02/09/2010:
1 out of 5 stars

Warning

I dabbed acetone on my face before going to bed one night and I woke up with chemical burns on my tongue and it triggered Bell's Palsy. Don't do it!

Lee (Phoenix, Az Usa) on 12/02/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

Not only is acetone produced by the body naturally in small amounts, it breaks down and is metabolized as fuel.

Acetone works well!!! If you are burned, you are either too wimpy or have some odd allergy.

If the smell bothers you, get the real stuff from HomeDepot. The nail polish smell and bitters is to deter winos from drinking it.

This is the first technique that I've found that actually helps. I get them from too much sun or windburn.

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Linda (Des Moines, Iowa) on 11/03/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

Acetone nail polish diminishes cold sores

You have to keep using it, though, for at least an hour or two. I'm in my 50s and have had cold sores ever since I was a little kid. I have found that if you can attack them quickly and aggressively, you can diminish them.

First, get a bottle of acetone nail polish remover and an over-the-counter strong cold sore ointment. First put the ointment on and let it sit there for a few minutes, then swab the sore with nail polish remover until the swab isn't cold anymore. Apply the ointment, and swab again. This takes two or three hours, but it's worth it. If you catch it early enough, the swelling will go down quite a bit and may be almost unnoticeable in the morning. I'm usually able to conceal it with a cover stick and a little powder the next day.

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