Cold Sore Relief: Top Natural Remedies

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Jenny (Toronto)
★★★★★

I use organic tea tree oil on my lips when I get the beginnings of an outbreak and it is gone within 24-36 hours. (i apply 3-4x/day).

also, an acidic body will give you an outbreak quickly. Look into the acid alkaline balance. Cheese and coffee does it for me every time.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by AJ (Bamberg, SC)
★★★★★

I used to get outbreaks on my lip at least a couple times a year with an unsightly scab that lasted about a week. I went through a period where I got them once a month like clockwork and it gave me plenty of chances to try all the remedies. Here are things that DON'T work.... Lysine, Bleach, Lysol, Abreva.... Here is the one that works... As soon as there is a blister, poke it with a pin and drain it. Then soak a small tissue in Hydrogen Peroxide and hold the tissue in over the blister site for at least two hours. After doing this, I have only had 2 outbreaks in 5 years and both were kept so small, that they were not even visible to others and no scab to follow.

Colloidal Copper

Posted by Kathy (Grandville, MI) on 05/12/2024
★★★★★

Herpes cold sore

Dabbing colloidal copper on the cold sore stops the cold sore from ever breaking out.

Oregano Oil

Posted by crystal (TX) on 02/14/2024
★★★★★

Oil of oregano heals fever blisters within days. I actually put the oil in the wound itself and then take 300 mg twice daily.

DMSO

Posted by Lisa (USA) on 09/11/2023
★★★★★

Yep.. I'm amazed... that's the stuff!!! I feel it, but it never broke out in a sore!

Ear Wax

Posted by Sandy (Chapel Hill, NJ) on 11/23/2022
★★★★★

Ear wax 100% works and I'm so glad I found this remedy. The key is to get to it early and it will stop it from every getting visible. But even if you miss the early stages and wake up with one, ear wax still drastically cuts down how long its around. I find, now that I know this, the max a cold sore will be around for me is 48-72 hours and usually they aren't noticeable at all. The only unfortunate thing with this remedy is you're likely to not have/produce enough ear wax to apply ear wax multiple times.

Niacin

Posted by Adriana (California) on 04/22/2021
★★★★★

My ex suffered from herpes simplex in the mouth, which smelled like the day after a battlefield, rotting. He had lost lots of weight and many remedies were not working. He could not eat and had lost a great deal of weight.

Because it seemed the condition was stuck, I had read that Niacin could move stuck radioactive conditions.

He took Niacin and within 2 days was back to work.

Magnesium Chloride

Posted by Marcia (Utah) on 05/01/2020
★★★★★

A drop of liquid magnesium chloride (aka magnesium oil) on the end of a Q-Tip, will kill a cold sore immediately.

Manuka Honey

Posted by Sunny (Los Angeles, Ca) on 09/13/2018
★★★★★

I tried putting castor oil for few days and didn't work, I thought it was actually getting worse. Then I tried putting raw royal jelly and didn't work. I then put high grade Manuka honey and in few days it worked. I put honey in the morning and after eating I brushed my teeth and put the honey again and in the evening before sleep. I put it on with q-tip. It may become crusty at first, but continue still and reapply after washing several times throughout the day and it will work!

EC: Hi Sunny, no ailment listed in your post. We're guessing it's a cold sore but please correct us if we're wrong.

Olive Leaf Extract

Posted by Alex (Thessaloniki, Greece) on 08/10/2017
★★★★★

I took olive leafs and it worked greatly! Here in Greece we have many olive tree so I just cut a small branch and put it in water with sugar in order to preserve.

I didn't take olive leafs when I felt the nerve in the lip irritated but I was late and took it when the blisters started to appear. I chewed two leafs and put it over the blisters for an hour, securing it with a trauma tape, tree times per day.

After just 24 hours the crust formatted in almost all the area and fluid it produced was minimised in relation to other times. Also the tingling or itching period lasted only the time I didn't put olive leafs and one day more. I have even eaten some leafs.

I continue putting olive leafs three times per day until it is almost gone. The bitter taste in olive leafs is due to Oleuropein killing the Herpes virus.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Anonymous (US) on 07/30/2017
★☆☆☆☆

Ok so I soaked Apple Cider Vinegar on a cotten ball and held the cotten ball on my cold sore for maybe more than ten minutes. Once I took it off I realized my lip swelled.. A lot. IF I were to do this again I would only dab on the Apple Cider Vinegar directly on the cold sore. Now I'm sitting in my room with an ice cube to my lip.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Paige (Texas) on 05/11/2017
★★★★★

Hydrogen peroxide for cold sores: just keep applying ðŸ˜€

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Cris01us (Honolulu) on 07/07/2017

I would let the skin rest and probably not do it more than a few times a day, especially each application is for an extended time.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Sisi1109 (Montreal ) on 07/03/2016
★☆☆☆☆

I'm a bit disappointed... I have herpes on my mouth for 7 years now. Found out about hydrogen peroxide and I did it I read the book and did everything 3 drops in a 8 oz glass of distilled water 3x a day until I reach 25 drops stayed a 25 drops for 4 days and went down to 3 then stopped and I went to do a blood test to see if I still have it in my system ( I haven't got the answer yet ) but on Saturday I felt a bump on my lip and guess what it was my herpes again.... its less intense then before.. but still frustrating that I still have it :( :(

Cold Sore Prevention Tips

Posted by Rr (Tennessee) on 12/10/2015
★★★★★

Any one who gets cold sores try this. This is to keep from getting them. Don't wash behind or around your ears. I swear there is something about oil being behind the ears that protects you from outbreaks. I was getting one after another until I realized it started when I switched from body wash to real soap which strips all your natural oils. I remembered how I had one almost all the time growing up and guess what we used...soap.

I stopped washing around my ears all together. I just wipe the area with a wet wash cloth occasionally, no soap or body wash. It has been more than a year since I got one and that's a long time for me. I also haven't had a cold since I started this.

I also only clean the ear out with a cotton swab when it feels like I have to.

I hope this helps someone.

Grapefruit

Posted by Adina (Ottawa) on 07/06/2015
★★★★★

This is what happened to me: I used to have so often cold sores that I was desperate. Is hard to believe, but I was getting cold sores even when I looked to somebody else with cold sores. Was absolutely crazy. And one day, many years back, when I was having cold sore I eat a grapefruit and I noticed that instead to grow, started to get dry. I was not 100% sure if was from the grapefruit. Was kind of strange. Usually I had my cold sores 2 up to 3 weeks (so bad they were). In the same time I did nothing unusual beside eating the grapefruit. So, I eat another one and I made sure that I touch the lips with the juice. In 2 days was gone. After that every time when I felt a cold sore is developing I was eating a grapefruit and the next day was gone. What is interesting is that now I do not get them anymore. I tested on somebody else also. I worked with a lady she used to have them very often. I told her about my discovery, she has been using since. She also does not get them very often now, but she still does.
I have to mention that mold in food or in the house can give cold sores. Maybe she has mold in the house that she still get them or in my case was not the house.
To go further, I tried with lemon and vit C. Lemon does not work so well as grapefruit and vit C is better then lemon, but the best I found is the GRAPEFRUIT.
Good Luck

And thank you to EC and all the people who share there knowledge.

Olive Leaf Extract

Posted by Olivia (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 05/19/2015
★★★★★

I suffered from huge lip cold sores since my teen years. Normally they will last 1 week and them they will dry up on the following week. I could not step out of my house for at least 4 days!! It was really bad. I had tried several remedies, natural and prescription ones, with little success!! Now I have it. For me it worked!! I felt the outbreak, itching, inflammation, swelling of the lip. I took Olive leaf extract standardized pills in the following order, 2 as soon as felt it. then 2 more every 3 to four hours, for a total of eight per day. I did it for at least 2 to 3 days, until I felt nothing on my lips. I applied as well tea tree oil on the area, I did not diluted it. It worked!!! I did not get the blisters. Im not sure if it was the combination of the oil and the pills or just the pills. I tried the tea tree oil before without success. I hope this will help you as it help me!!