The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Nan (Canada) on 04/30/2023
★★★★★
My multi - protocol:
1. The minute I feel tingling, I dab it with OREGANO, GARLIC, or GOLDEN SEAL essential oil, (or, if necessary, ACETONE/nail polish remover - I spit out any that goes into my mouth). I dab one of the above herbs on my lip every hour or two - I use only one herb a time, but you can rotate them from hour to hour. Use Acetone only 3 times a day or less.
Another remedy that you can also use WITH the above or use alone:
Dab on a little mixture of cayenne pepper and coconut, olive, or any edible oil. I sometimes cover it with a bandaid for a while to hold it in place while it dries. This works very well on skin shingles -- as well as taking lots of Vitamin C/lysine. It might sting a little at first.
2. Take plenty of Vitamin C and lysine at least 3 - 6 times a day. (If you experience loose stools, back off, but don 't stop taking it altogether for a week or so.) Drink lots of water with the C.
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These remedies won't eliminate the cold sore completely if it's already formed a pea-sized bump, but it will stop it from growing into a larger bubbly marble as the sore will flatten and stop tingling or feeling painful. (By the second or third day, your lip might still have a reddish, flattened dried-out light bump, but it should pass as looking merely chapped.)
**** When the tingling first starts and your lips are dry, do the protocol immediately. If you aren't at home, if necessary, rub on a bit of salt, tabasco sauce and/or vinegar. Carry apple cider vinegar and vitamin C and lysine capsules in your purse or car to take in an emergency. Do NOT wait! For me, consuming excessive sugar (and occasionally too many nuts, which contain arginine, and for some, excessive pop or alcohol) is the major culprit and the bitter vinegar, pickle juice/sauerkraut, lysine, and vitamin C supplements seem to counteract that.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Susan (Manila, Philippines) on 05/07/2012
★★★★★
I have had herpes since about age 7 or 8, I had it both orally and genitally, I know Doctors will say it is not possible but I think being a child I played with the oral sores and transferred it to my penis when I had a pee, anyway all my life it has come and gone and now I'm 64 and I just discovered this website. Brilliant. My outbreaks have been rare over the past 30 or 40 years but 3 years I moved from my native New Zealand to the Philippines and after coming here I began having outbreak after outbreak. I have seldom needed any medication before and suddenly I found I needed it, but I hardly got over one OB and another would start. Then I began getting a rash above the hairline on the back of my head, and around the waist, under my arms, my butt crack, anywhere I sweated heavily. That generated me thinking why, what is different, and after a lot of thought, it is definitely diet triggered. I went from Potato as the staple to rice and also in NZ I always drank alkaline water, where I lived the water was naturally alkaline.
So I began the 1/4 teaspoon of BS in a glass of water twice a day on a empty stomach, stopped eating rice for breakfast and began eating raw fruits as my first food, I would consume this using the ACV as a dip and would consume 1 or 2 tablespoons of it.
My skin began to clear immediately, the itching stopped, and the herpes outbreaks seem to have come to halt. I have been doing this for a month, added benefit, I have lost weight and my BP is a steady 110/70. What more can I say. I love this site. Thank Earth Clinic and especially Ted from Thailand.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Sms27 (Princeton, Nj, Usa) on 04/07/2012
★★★★★
I've tried many remedies, but what best works for me is a combination of lysine taken first thing in the morning and then twice more during the day, and in the first day of the sore, dabbing it periodically with tea tree oil, holding the cutip for a minute or so, then putting vaseline on it. Taking vitain C and zinc supplements speeds up the healing process. The best part about the teatree oil is that is dries the sore and it doesn't really break-up, making it easy to conceal, especially if you catch it within a few hours of forming. If you catch it before it starts swelling, when you just have tingling and itching, then it is very lkely it won't even form.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Alamont (Reno, Nevada) on 12/06/2011
★★★★★
I don't get cold sores often enough to realize what's happening until it's too late. I had dry lips one day and the next day awoke with a pea size sore on the outside of upper and lower lip. I immediately put Releev on as directed on the package for one day. The next day my lips were visably swollen and the cold sore quater-size. Plus, the sore now extended into my mouth. Everywhere I read online said once a cold sore moves inside your mouth you have to take anti-viral drugs to get rid of them. I wasn't about to do that. So I began gargling with hydrogen peroxide. It bubbled a lot, but I noticed no difference after one day so I began gargling with a solution I got in part from this site: 1oz warm filtered water, 3oz hydrogen peroxide, 1tbsp baking soda, 1tbsp sea salt, and two drops Lugols iodine. I also put the solution on a spoon and held it to my sore. I let the sore air dry, trying to keep my mouth open to dry out the sore inside my mouth too. Once it was dry, I dapped tea tree oil both inside and outside. I did this as often as I could throughout the day (maybe every 2 hours), as I still had to go to work. By the next day my swelling reduced and it felt like it was on the mend. By the 5th day, it was just a scab and in 7 days it was completely gone. I would have liked it to be gone sooner, but I feel like one week was a good healing time for such an intense cold sore.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Una1rose (Toronto, On, Canada) on 11/25/2011
★★★★★
Most importantly, I have learnt that if I stress out about herpes or anything, my sores are worse and occur more often.
I take 2000 mg L-Lysine when I get an outbreak or tingle. It can prevent them for a few days and sometimes I never develop them at all.
I avoid any foods with baking soda/powder, salt, sugar, yeast. These foods really stress out my immune system and make me more susecptable to breakouts. I eliminated them from my diet and now only break out 1-2 times a year at most. I'm a strict vegan as well which also helps my immune health.
My system for treating outbreaks:
I wash and then cover sore in Abreva. Then I cover with it with New Skin, a liquid bandage. It's nice and stress free. It tingles and smells like herbs and I don't have to worry about infecting others or other parts of my body.
Every morning and night I wash the sore and hold a cotton pad with a mixture of cold camomille tea, tea tree oil and rubbing alcohol on it for a minute or two. I then pat dry with a tissue and cover with New Skin. In a week, for sure, the sore will be completely gone.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Gilliansage (Rowlett, Texas, United States) on 07/10/2011
★★★★★
I have tried everything, from Abreva, to prescriptions, to Herpecin. Mine get down right nasty, one time I had one about the size of a quarter on my upper lip. I than did some research and discovered Oregano Oil. It has to be the pure oil. I got it online from a specialty shop. I take a q-tip and apply it when the bumps and the tingling starts. It burns to the core, I also take lysine in pill form. I have found that too much Arginine which in is nuts aggrivates the cold sore. Make sure it is pure and not diluted. Also be very careful as it is strong as all out. I also add a drop or two to a glass of oj. Oh it's not easy to drink, but I find that when I have a cold sore, I also have a lymph node swell in my neck and my ulcer starts acting up. I take the Oregano to kill off any other infections I might have going on.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Kate (Atlanta, GA) on 06/12/2007
★★★★★
Ok let me start by saying medical advise from doctors only suppress symptoms. This is the remedy I use daily... Take 2 super lysine pills daily I take them at the same time on empty stomach, You can fine this at an herbal shop. Drink liquid oxygen water thru out the day it increases ph balance in blood, we need water any way daily but don't mix the oxygenated water with herbs at the same time. You can find this at the herbal shop. Take olive leaf capsules, I take 3 a day, this plant is the plant that heals the nations according to the bible it also builds the immune system just like super lysine. Taking a liquid vitamin for example mirical 2000 is a good way 2 build the immune system and you are getting daily vitamins. Finally vegetables and fruits I don't consume enough vegetables and fruits eating so the alternate option is to juice them and drink a nice glass of green plants and fruits this also increase your ph in your blood and to top it off apply dmso on the bottom part of your spine and your genital area I would say twice a week. And this will stop any break outs you will practically forget u have herpes I have been outbreak free for 14yrs now.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Jerry (Dingman's Ferry, PA) on 12/24/2006
★★★★★
Lysine, Super B Complex, Zinc, Vitamin C, and Acidophilus (all of these taken daily, one capsule), plus garlic tablets when an outbreak occurs. This vitamin regimen helps prevent outbreaks. The garlic helps get rid of the sores when there is an outbreak.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Lexi (Los Angeles) on 05/25/2006
★★★★★
i wanted to post a cure for cold sores... i tried a combo of just about everything on the board and it worked! i was diligent but did add one thing, Oregano Oil directly to the tiny sore on my lip. this was my regimen: oregano oil followed by lysine drops - directly on the sore. i took supplements of vitamin C, a Multi, Olive Leaf Extract, Grapeseed Extract, Lysine, Zinc, Echinacea and Golden Seal and an Oxygen supplement (like Cell Food) to my water. sometimes i put the drops of oxygen on the sore as well. i kept it very clean with hydrogen peroxide and then would do another round of oregano oil and lysine drops on it. i would then use grapeseed oil so my lip wouldn't get over dry. also, put some oregano oil drops on your tongue. be diligent. don't drink alcohol, be as healthy as you can -- work out, do yoga whatever works for you... stay positive and i swear, you can stop it before anyone even notices what it is.
