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Cold Sore Relief: Top Natural Remedies

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Vicks

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Posted by Cherry (Powder Springs, Georgia) on 03/03/2008
 ★★★★★

Vicks Vapor Rub or Carmex never fails to stop the development of a cold sore. I only get the itch indicating a cold sore is coming once or twice a year. As soon as I feel that itch I put a gob of vicks or carmex on it and it stops itching immediately and never develops into the sore. I thinks it's the camphor and menthol that cures.

Replied by Fruitful Eden
(Or)
11/21/2020
4 posts

There is also turpentine oil in Vicks vapor rub and I think it might be the turpentine oil that helps.

Vitamin A

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Posted by Sara (Houston, Texas)
★★★★★

Break open a vitamin A capsule and apply. I've tried everything. This helps me prevent a full blown outbreak. I get the virus on my nose!

Vitamin C

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Posted by Jamie (Los Angeles, California) on 02/07/2013
 ★★★★★

Hi! I just wanted to share my whole life I've suffered from having annoying cold sores right on my face and a couple years ago I found why I got them in the first place and how to stop them. I did some research and found out since cold sores are a virus, they can be counter-acted by boosting up your immune system. I guess I must've just had a weak immune system for my life and so a couple years ago I started taking 500-1000mg Vitamin C per day and have not gotten them since! At one point I lazed off from taking the vitamin c, and what do you know I got one again! But as soon as I noticed it/ felt it I took about 3000 mg Vitamin C per day and it disappeared! My self confidence is so much higher now and I feel way better myself and no more stress/worrying about when I'm going to get one!

Replied by Neukoln
(Edinburgh, Scotland, Uk)
02/08/2013

This is a fabulous result, and I know it will help lots of people.

I was taking vitamin C in similar doses and still got cold sores - at least once a month, for over 15 years. It was only when I started taking 1000mg of lysine powder, on an empty stomach first thing in the morning that they finally stopped. I've been doing that for 5 years - and the only time I've had one was when I went I ran out for 3 weeks. It's important that lysine is taken on an empty stomach because otherwise it is mixed with amino acids in food to make protein. It's tasteless and dissolves easily, so mixing it with water is fine.

Vitamin C
Posted by Joe (Roseburg, Tx.) on 05/19/2012

Dear sirs, regarding herpes, I found a site, and it said to place the vit c directly on opened blister, and warned that it would burn like fire, so I bit down on a peice of leather {joke} and yes it did burn alot, plus I bled just a wee, but I have not had a problem since.

Thats been 2 years now, it was very unpleasant for about 1 to 2 wks while I healed, but Im very thankful it worked.

Vitamin C
Posted by Doug (Miami, Fl) on 11/05/2010
 ★★★★★

Vitamin C deserves it's own listing under cures. It's the one thing that works for me. If I take it at the first 'tingle' - no outbreaks. If I catch it too late (for example, I have a little blister when I wake up in the morning), the blister never gets any bigger. I'll generally take about 1500mg every couple of hours until the tingling goes away. Random note: 95% of my outbreaks are preceded by dry/chapped lips. Since moving back to Florida, outbreaks are luckily very rare.

Vitamin C and DMSO

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Posted by Marymcdowell (Wilmington, DE) on 05/16/2015
 ★★★★★

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)

Vitamin E

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Posted by Sue (Rochester, NY) on 05/07/2008
 ★★★★★

Try a dab of Vitamin E Oil several times a day at the first sign of a cold sore - it has worked great for me. The sore starts to dry up right away and is usually gone within 2 days.

Vitamin E and Gold Bond Medicated Powder

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Posted by Lucy (NY) on 02/26/2007
 ★★★★★

Remedy for HSV 1: Vitamin E either tabs or oil- (higher degree of IU's, the better) with Gold Bond Powder! Place both together on sores. It heals w/o any scabbing! Best to you all!

Vodka, Tea Tree Oil, Acne Cream

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Posted by Kathleen (Virginia, Us) on 03/28/2011
 ★★★★★

The first moment you feel the itching/tingling sensation clean the whole area around your mouth with vodka/grain alcohol, after that rub tea tree oil on the areas that feel tingly/itchy. Let this dry, and then you will take acne cream the one with (10) in the name containing benzoyl peroxide, apply this carefully to the spot(s) with a q-tip. Try to keep the dots very small as the cream will dry out all skin and cause peeling. This has been truly magical for me!! If you catch it before there is any visible sign of a sore, it stops them from ever appearing. Repeat throughout the day, keep area very clean with alcohol and tea tree, use new cotton balls/q-tips/pads for each application, be careful not to touch anything, so as not to contaminate or spread infection to new spots.

Have been doing this for many years now, with great success! If you catch it when blisters are visible this will greatly help with speeding healing and preventing new sores. Good luck to all! This is such a great site, have used many of the remedies with success, and try to pass info on to all. Thank you everone so much!

Witch Hazel

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Posted by Tami (Stettler, Canada) on 11/27/2007
 ★★★★★

I don't know if this helps herpes, but when I feel a cold sore coming on, I dab on a cotton ball of witch hazel on it, and the cold sore hardly ever shows up...if the feeling doesn't go away (I can see it, but it hasn't broken yet, I just reapply. Works every time.

Replied by Dada
(Boston, Ma, US)
05/28/2009
★★★★★

Well, of all these remedies only this one works for me. Thank you!

Zapper

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Posted by Nit (Long Beach, California) on 01/13/2011
 ★★★★★

I've had this itchy mole on my left calf for more then two years - its brown the size of a pea. Later I develop a very sharp unexplain pain on my left foot from my knee to my buttock then follow an controllable fever which I got it more than twice a year. I zap with a 1000hz frequency with a zapper for one whole month. The mole fall off and now 2 years later - cancer free - Herpes type I-II also so gone for good for the last 4 years now.

Zap did not remove my stuffy nose - its been stuffy for over 15 years. I crush Garlic add a little purify water and applied on my whole face and head - in an instant - my stuffy nose started to clear. For the first time my nose is stuffy free for over 6 years now.

Zinc

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Posted by Canadiandave (Bc) on 01/28/2017 15 posts
 ★★★★☆

Editor's Choice

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!

Replied by Dave Of Canada
(Victoria, Bc)
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.


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