Top Natural Remedies for Cold Sores (Fever Blisters)

Oregano Oil

Posted by Honey (Brooklyn, United States) on 11/29/2012

Has any actually been fully cured of herpes usuing the oil of oregano?

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Kilgore (Jackson, Ms) on 12/06/2012

Try iodine. I completely resolved my 7 year case in two months by taking 20 drops of 5% solution in coffe and milk. It works!

Oregano Oil

Posted by Sed (South Africa) on 04/06/2015

Hi I used oil of oregano by applying it on my back n drinking it and also applying it on the leisons-genital n it causes irregular periods. The virus has started shredding and I'm clueless currently researching. Do u know an alternative way I could use the oil?

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Rubylola (Brisbane, Australia) on 10/28/2012
★★★★★

From time to time I will get a cold sore up my nose which is really itcy and sometimes painful. I normally put cold sore cream on and it will take a few days to scab and heal. Yesterday I woke up with a big blister up there and decided to soak an ear bud in ACV and apply. I was worried it would sting as my nose was quite sore but I did not feel anything at all. I applied the ACV all around my nostril and held it for a minute on the blister. The blister was completely gone from this! I swabbed diluted ACV around the outside area of my nose to make sure it didn't spread and continued to do this throughout the day. The next day there is no scab or anything up my nose, I'm very impressed. I will continue to apply it today to kill anything that may still be lurking. Will be interesting to see if it works the same next time (would be great if there is no next time though! ).

Electro-Therapy

Posted by Ragingcase (Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada) on 10/20/2012

I have had ob of HSV-1 on my lips since pre-adolescence... Probably originally inadvertently transmitted to me from goodnight/goodbye kisses by infected family members... gross huh! I have been and am diligent about warning and abstaining from intimate contact with all my past partners from the onset of ob.

My family doctor suggested at the onset of ob boosts of double regular doses of various vitamins... mainly C, B-complex, A & D; as well as drying the blisters out with rubbing alcohol and unscented anti-perspirant; then regularly cleaning the burst blisters with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide; all of which has a predictable but slight effect.

HOWEVER... just this weekend, with the familiar feelings of the onset of an ob, just a week and a half after my last (and pretty severe) ob cleared up, I was at my wits end as it has been nearly a month since being able to kiss my girlfriend. So I got this crazy notion... What if I try to electrocute the virus ?

I did a little on-line research and found a little info that it is feasable, a-LOT that it is bunk, but nothing that said it would cause any damage, so I licked my lip depositing a good conducting layer of saliva, gritted my teeth and touched the two electrodes of a fresh, clean 9 volt battery to the area... And... I got a good shock! But I pressed on, holding the shocking electrodes for 15 second intervals over and around the festering area, both the outside and slightly inside my lip. Once every couple of hours since the onset yesterday morning.

... and...

... without blistering, it's starting to shrink and the burning pressure is subsiding. Now this is only the first time trying this, and it's quite possibly, just a mild rebound (albeit about a centimeter over) from the last and pretty severe ob less than a week ago, but I'm actually quite surprised... Shocked you might say! Lol

I am going to continue this low voltage "electro-therapy" for the duration of this ob and some future ones to test its efficacy, and hopefully some other brave souls may experiment with it too and report back. And if anyone has any professional medical evidence advising against it, that would be great too.

I'll hopefully keep this forum posted. - RagingCase

Electro-Therapy

Posted by Linda (Maricopa, Az) on 01/20/2015

Interesting technique, but very painful. I have been cold sore free for over 30 years. Prior to using a treatment (I received from a nurse) I had sore large sores at least 4 times a year. This nurse told me to get some drinkable iodine, place 10 drops in a large glass of water, drink it up, do this for 30 days. She said the virus for this herpes lives in the pancrease and this iodine kills it. Well it worked for me. I recommend this to my friends - think they are a bit sceptical - so they may not ever use it. You may want to try this.

Acetone

Posted by Serina (Us) on 03/08/2015

Where do you get strait acetone though. I read the ingredients in my nail polish remover and it has SOOOOO MANY other ingredients I'm afraid to put that on the sore on my lip.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Geri (Seattle, Washington) on 08/09/2012

What the best combination of supplements is to permanently eliminate dormant herpes from the nervous system? What is the dosage, and for how long should the herbs and supplements be taken?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Maxklug (MA, US) on 03/05/2015

There has only EVER been ONE substance shown to eliminate a dormant herpes infection. That is Glycyrrhizic Acid. It causes cells that have the dormant Kaposi Sarcoma virus in them to die. Chaps Sarcoma is a type of herpes virus. It is not known if this works for other herpes type viruses. I am unclear of the exact mechanism but it works somewhere along the lines of it activates only half of the mechanism to reactivate the dormant virus' DNA and this causes the cell harboring the virus to die. If I remember correctly this research was done in Japan.

Self treatment with this would be tricky or dangerous, and could only be short term as Glycyrrhizic Acid causes a rise in cortisol levels by inhibiting the breakdown of cortisol.

L-Lysine

Posted by Becky (Fulton, Ny ) on 07/31/2012

My husband was diagnosed Bipolar 2 about 1.5 yrs ago after a manic episode possibly brought on by the huge amount of stress he was under. I read here about bipolar being caused by the herpes virus and it clicked because my husband had Rheumatoid Arthritis caused by the herpes zoster virus.... After a yr. on metronidazole he is completely healed of RA but was taking 2,000mg a day of Lysine to keep the virus in check.

He is in a depressed state now having come down from a manic eposide about a month ago. On day 1 he took 1,000mg Lysine every hour for 12 hrs...... Day 2 he took 1,000mg Lysine every hr. for 10 hrs. He felt less depressed the middle of day 2. On day 3 he took 1,000mg every hr. for 8 hrs and he felt much better but he woke up depressed on morning of day 4.... Which is today.... He started taking the Lysine at 8am then every hour so far......

Should he keep going every hour? How long should he keep doing this?

He is also taking.... Gelatin multi-vitamin 2x, vit c 1,000mg 4x, Vit. B6, 12, folic acid, Selenium 2x, Vit. D 5,000iu a day, Niacin 500mg 3x, choline 400mg, Inositol 650mg, zinc 50mg 2x, MSM 1,000mg 3x, Vit. A, Milk Thistle and he has taken various amino acids to help with mood.

I really do believe this could be cause by the herpes zoster virus because it caused his RA but dont want him to OD on lysine. Can this much lysine damage his liver? Seems like this virus is really holding on but I do see hope but not sure where to go from here? Is there anything else that can knock this virus out? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Becky

Lemon Balm

Posted by Crys (Ventura, Ca) on 07/15/2012
★★★★★

YAY! It worked great!

Geranium Oil

Posted by Janet (Fernley, Nevada) on 07/11/2012
★★★★★

I was just told about using Geranium oil on cold sores and will never use anything else it worked fast!!! I had 2 cold sores and a 3rd one on its way. The 2 had popped already and were starting to scab, I put a drop of Geranium oil on my finger and dabbed it on the sores 2 or 3 times through out the day. It doesn't taste great if it gets in your mouth but oh well. I would put on carmex inbetween Geranium oil applications. The next day the 3rd sore never came, the smaller sore was gone and the bigger sore was much smaller!! My sister in law says she puts it on before the blisters pop and it clears right up, mine were open already and it still worked super fast! It is now day 3 I have not put anymore Geranium oil on it since day 1 and my cold sores are all almost GONE! I love it!!!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Please Help (Fort Wayne, In) on 06/06/2012

So if I take 2-3 tablespoos of vinegar a day will this cure the hsv2 virus or do I have to add something else to it?

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Emily (Alameda, Ca) on 06/06/2012

I have never heard of such a thing, but if you're going to try it.. I wouldn't take that much, ESPECIALLY all at once.. if you have any negative side effects, they will come on way stronger than you'd appreciate.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Miserable_in_bama (Oneonta, Alabama, United States) on 06/10/2012

try L-lysine 1, 000mg 2x a day, morning and night, and you shouldn't have another outbreak. As for healing what you have, echinacea/goldenseal, red clover, burdock root, pau d' arco, elderberry, acidolphilus. Ech/goldenseal is best, but take acidolphilus or you will get a yeast infection, it is like an antibiotic. Keep it clean and dry. Use witch hazel or tea tree oil to help it heal up. Tea tree oil will dry it out, give you pain relief, and it feels cooling to me.

L-lysine is cheap and I haven't had an outbreak in 2 yrs. I used to get them so bad I passed in and out of consciousness, high fever, extreme joint and muscle aches, dizziness, you name it. Take me a month to heal.

Good luck and God Bless

Acetone, Aloe Vera

Posted by Grace (London, Uk) on 05/28/2012
★★★★★

I get shingles or facial herpes on my cheeks and chin.

I do not get it on my lips but either next to my eyes or around my nose or below my lips. The doctors have never determined which form of herpes it is. Valtrex has not helped.

Two things have really helped me. I want to share them with people so they can hopefully really improve this painful and unpleasant condition keeping the suffering to a minimum and the scars to next to nothing. The aloe vera also works for boils so I am going to post there too.

I am so grateful for having found these amazing solutions.

Acetone for the early stages, if you feel a tingling and you manage to get it on soon enough, it can stop the sore(s) dead in its tracks. I find putting it on an ear-bud (Q-tip) and applying every hour or so, is the best. Then overnight put a glob of Abreva cream on the sore(s) and by morning it is gone or on its way out.

If the sore does develop I find Fresh Aloe Vera straight from the plant is the most amazing thing for drying it up. I often end up popping the blisters, as I find the swelling so painful. Once the sore(s) is gross and oozing you want to dry it up as fast as possible, avoid wetting the sore or taking long showers and baths.

You should apply fresh aloe vera- the juicy part- straight from the plant every half an hour or so until the sore turns into a scab and then keep on applying as often as you can. Only fresh aloe vera from the plant works, I have tried the bottled stuff and it just does not work the same. I always have an aloe vera plant in the house for these needs and have been known when travelling to bring parts of leaves with me in a ziplock bag!

The best thing is to slice a small amount off the plant and keep it in the bathroom and just keep on applying the juicy liquid as often as you can. Eventually you'll need a fresh piece as the juicy part will dry out.

I have found I can 'cure' a sore in 3 days if I am lucky, with only a minor red mark at the end that is easy to cover with concealer. Usually on the 3rd day of applying the aloe vera the scab is so tight and dry it easily falls off or peels off. I advise you: do NOT pull it off if it is still stuck on too tight or shows no signs of peeling off as you will have a scar and the sore may not be healed properly underneath yet. If this is the case just keep on applying aloe vera until the sore is completely dried out and has no bump underneath or swelling at all. The aloe vera really stops inflammation as well as drying out the sore.

If you are sure the sore is really dead and dried out and all scabbed up, another thing that helps the healing is to apply -only when you are 100% sure it is all dried up! Or else you will reactive it- some neosporin. This will help humidify the skin underneath so it heals nicely without leaving a big scar.

Aloe vera, straight from mother nature, from the fresh plant is heaven sent and I thank beautiful nature and mother earth for giving us this wonderful miracle!

I really advise you try this; I have tried everything over the course of 4 years of suffering from these sores now, baking soda, salt, vinegar, various creams, lotions, to dry out a sore but nothing works like fresh aloe vera.

I have not yet found a preventative measure yet despite trying nearly all the remedies suggested here but when I do I will post about it.

Alcohol

Posted by Drmet (Orange, California, USA) on 05/20/2012
★★★★★

i have had herpes type 1 for over 30 years and yesturday i started to get a break out on my lip so i did what i have done for over 20 years.

warning!!! what i do is extreamly painfull, but it works!!!

1. when you feel you are breaking out wait about 8 to 12 hours for the sore to get 1/2 way to a head.

2. get a razor blade or sharp knife and scrape the outer skin from the sore.
(you will bleed a bit, this part hurts but continue)

3. get a tissue, cotton balls or a rag and dip it in rubbing alcohol.

4. place the alcohol swab on the open sore, do this 4 or 5 times.
(this hurts alot! but only for a few seconds then re apply when you are able)

as i stated above i allowed my cold sore to come to a small early head, then did my treatment and this morning my sore is not hurting, my glands did not become inflamed, do not have any pain from the sore!

i know this works for me, please remember if you choose to use my cure, it is painful for a very short time so i suggest if you start do it quick and get it over with.

doc

Lemon Balm

Posted by Irbgirl (Indian Rocks Beach, Fl USA) on 05/20/2012

Are you on any blood pressure med? There was a certain bp med my husband was on and it caused him to get cold sores. (I'm a nurse and that really doesn't make sense, but... ) He started taking Lysine to stop the cold sores and it worked. A few years went by and he got a new doctor who wanted him to use a newer, different bp med. My husband, being my husband, ran out of Lysine and never bothered to replace it. When I asked him about it, he told me he hadn't taken Lysine in a long time and really felt it was the old brand of bp med that had been causing the problem.

Lemon Balm

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 05/24/2012

Angela, do you know if this would help for canker sores (inside the mouth) too?

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Anonymous (Bklyn, Ny, Usa) on 04/29/2012

Got a little time on my hands so I am posting today since I have not done so in a long time. I forgot to mention that I juice a lot primarily alkaline products. I juice celery, parsley, cucumber, few cloves of garlic, ginger, lemon and spinach. Every once in a while I change it, but a few of the items there are standard. I follow a chart and eat mostly alkaline foods and some raw. No rice, flour, oatmeal etc. Rice on a few ocassion if I am visiting somone which is rare. Mostly, ground foods, green salads and fruits. It can be frustrating at times, but after hearing that two people got cured, I am trying hard. No more fried foods etc. My meals r bland and boring, but I want result. I also test my urine. Powdered spirulina raises ph so I use it daily. Read my other posting. This is just an extension to what I forgot. Try to eat the foods that are very high in alkaline. I am no longer concerned about getting an OB. I am trying and praying hard. Read my blog to see what is working for me. I need to be patient. A lot of what I am using is updates that I get from my friend in Geogia who met this young man and told her what he did to be cured. I changed my diet recently, so I need to understand that it might take longer.

Acetone, Ice, Lysine

Posted by Maz (Philadelphia, Pa, Usa) on 04/26/2012
★★★★★

I woke up with COLD SORES on a Tuesday morning, and I was going to fly across the country to visit my boyfriend that Friday! No way was I going to see my boyfriend for the first time in a month and NOT be able to kiss him! I used ice AND lysine AND acetone. Here's how:

LYSINE: Took 3000 mg as soon as I got up, 2000 mg at lunch, and 2000 mg at bedtime. The second and third days, I took 2000 mg at each of the same times.

ICE: Iced ASAP for about 20 minutes. This stopped the tingling and pain for about half an hour after I was done. Iced again a few hours later for another 20 minutes.

ACETONE: After icing, I used a Q-tip to CAREFULLY soak each cold sore with acetone for about a minute. As soon as the tingling or pain came back, I soaked the sores with the acetone again. I did this for about an hour and a half, then rinsed my lips with lots of cold water. I soaked the sores with acetone again one time right before going to bed. The second day, I used the acetone one time in the morning and one time at night.

The sores were GONE by the end of the second day. My lips WERE red and puffy for another day or so in the places where I'd used the acetone -- so be aware that you might be replacing your cold sore with a chemical burn.

I have not tried using these three things separately, so I can't tell you which one is the best. But using all of them together worked for me!

Acetone

Posted by Tunameat (Myrtle Beach, Sc) on 11/04/2012
★☆☆☆☆

I just noriced a cold sore yesterday. It was barely noticeable so I ran out to CVS and got Abreva and Lysine , I spent about $30. I lathered that on and went to sleep. Wake up and its 2x bigger, red, swollen and has a white blistery area forming on my lip, sorta flat so far. I applied Nail Polish remover this morning since I was so pissed. I put it on a Q-tip and dabbed it on my lip for about 10 seconds. I did it again about an hour later, then 2 hours later. So far I see absolutely no change. Nothing. Looks exactly the same. I think this may be a placebo effect. Does not work.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Eva Maria (Bern) on 04/11/2012

Here I have something that helped me a lot my friends:

There is many creams against Lip Herpes but what really works is to take Lysine Capsules, Vitamin C 1gr retard or 2x 500mgr a day and avoid foods that have high levels of Arginine like chocolate, all nuts, and pulses. In addition eat a lot of curd (it contains Lysine). Also avoid direct sunlight upon your face and put a shawl against cold on your mouth.

Happy season change for all who suffer from Lip Herpes! Eva

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Marathonlady (Denver, Co.) on 04/04/2012
★★★★★

I have had real good luck with keeping my herpes lesions from beginning full blown sores. When you begin to feel the tingling of an episode, or even if they are there but not leaking fluid, dab on tea tree oil with your fingers straight out of the bottle. This will reduce and totally eliminate the sore. Otherwise, the episode takes 2 to 3 weeks to get over. I have my sores on my butt cheeks, so don't know how the tea tree oil would act on tender genital tissues?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by New Generation Hippy (London, Ontario, Canada) on 03/26/2012

I have just gotten the first cold sore I've had in years and am in panic mode. I have been quite sick for the last week & I think my lowered immunity has brought on an outbreak.. I noticed it last night & applied an OTC ointment that didn't seem to help at all so I looked up a natural remedy. Thankfully I already had some raw organic apple cider vinegar, vitamin E & a bottle of oil of oregano handy from my week of being ill.

I originally applied the oil of oregano on it's own, about 3 or 4 times within an hour and just let it soak into the blisters, I could feel it burning a little & it seemed to be working really well, they seemed to almost disappear after the 3rd time... But a few hours later I noticed some swelling and they were bigger again, so I broke down and tried the acetone.. I was very skeptical about putting something so harsh on my lip but I am desperate to get rid of this thing before going to see my boyfriend. Since then I have been alternating from rubbing on the acetone, then a bit of oil of oregano & vit. E mixed together, then the ACV, then back to the oil & vit. E again, then the acetone. Etc. Etc. I cycle through these for about a half hour, letting each soak in thoroughly, then I hold an ice cube over it until it melts completely(this hurts but lowering the temp. will help slow the growth of the virus under your skin) then I leave it alone & let the irritation subside before repeating the whole process again.

Hope this helps! I find the OTC remedies only shorten the healing time by a day or 2 at most & leave the area so dry I usually get a very nasty, irritated & red scab after I manage to finally rid myself of the cold core. This is day 2 of my treatment and my small blisters have not popped, they have shrunk in size & I think it will start to heal before the blisters even break, which is great to be able to skip the whole embarassing phase of having an oozing, open sore on your face.