Top Natural Remedies for Cold Sores (Fever Blisters)

Head and Shoulders Shampoo

Posted by Ronda (Shelburne, Canada) on 11/25/2007
★★★★★

I have found that breaking the sores (with fingernail clippers) to open them and applying Head & Shoulders shampoo is an incredible way to get rid of cold sores fast. You must open the sores, though, to get the shampoo directly inside them. Warning, it hurts like peroxide on cuts but it's worth it. If you do this at the first tingle, you can usually keep the sores from developing at all. Apply it often. Then, once the sores are scabs, use polysporin to heal them very quickly.

Witch Hazel

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.

Acidophilus

Posted by John (Sandpoint, Idaho USA) on 11/27/2007
★★★★★

At first sign of a COLD SORE take two acidofillus capsules with water three times a day. These bowel friendly bacteria used to be available in yogurt and/or goats milk but are now usually removed. I believe that the friendly bacteria helps balance the ph of the colon and eliminates the cold sores. I have used this on myself and my family and a dozen other people in the last 25 years and never seen it fail. Results almost immediate and it never takes more than 24 hrs.

Aspirin, St. John's Wart, Tea Tree Oil

Posted by K (New York, New York) on 12/27/2007
★★★★★

This Works on Contact. Remove the top skin from the cold sore/herpes simplex. Ground Aspirin with 2 drops or tea tree oil (organic) and 2 drops of St. John's Wart liquid form (organic). If your a baby and you can't take pain you can numb it with Ambersol. It will kill the virus on site. It will form a scab immediately, stops the oozing, itching and swelling.

Ear Wax

Posted by N (milwaukee,wi) on 12/31/2005
★★★★★

the wax in the ear to heal cold sores works. my mom told me about it, and for ages our family has done this to get rid of cold sores. it really does work. I agree with Marvin, from Calgary, Canada.

Ear Wax

Posted by Marvin (Calgary, Canada)
★★★★★

For Cold Sores on the lip...(I know it sounds nasty) ear wax rubbed on the sore repeatedly from the time you first get the tingling sensation does wonders. Since I tried this for the first time, I've not had a single one do anything but start to form a bump... they then vanish in a few days like magic.

Ear Wax

Posted by Jessica (LIma, Ohio) on 07/31/2007
★★★★★

This will sound odd but those of us that get cold sores and such know the warning signs. I was told many years ago that when you get the itchy or tingle feeling to put ear wax on the spot. I tried it and have done it for 13 yrs or so now. It works very very well and I tell everyone about it. It doesnt taste good if you lick your lips but it does work.

Ear Wax

Posted by Brigitte (Houston, Texas) on 01/11/2008
★★★★★

Thank you for the information regarding Herpes outbreaks. Luckily the colc sore that I have is not a terribly aggressive form. I seldom have a problem but when I do the colc sore forms on my cheek. Last night I began to feel the tingeling sensation which is a precurser to its appearance. I tried the DMSO and hydrogen peroxide which simply burned and did nothing to prevent the manifestation of the cold sore. This morning It hurt really bad and I am expecting a vivit from family and I did not want them to see my face with a festering postule so in desperation to stop the burning, itching, and tingeling, I tried the ear wax because I had none of the other more hygenic ingredients which are spoken of in other articles. To my utter disbelief, It worked to stop the pain almost imediately the swelling has stopped and I am saved the embarrassment of having the eye sore while my inlaws are visiting. Thank you again for this home remedy. I will use it again in the future.

Ear Wax

Posted by Margie (Columbia, SC) on 03/26/2008
★★★★★

You might find this fever blister (herpes) remedy kind of yucky, however IT WORKS. I've been using it for YEARS and I'm 52. Whenever I feel a fever blister coming up on my lip, I immediately apply (here goes) EARWAX from my ear! YES REALLY. Just use a Q-tip, dab a little on the area and you can feel the earwax working as soon as you apply it! For some reason, earwax dries fever blisters very, very quickly. The only downside is that earwax tastes bitter. I know you are horrified right now, But DON'T KNOCK IT until you've tried it. I've never taken the time to research why it works. (Maybe you folks might have an answer.) Anyway, if you feel this is appropriate to post, please do. Thanks,

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by David (Los Angeles, CA) on 01/15/2008
★★★★★

Well.. it's official.. this last week, what I thought was a zit on my chin, slowly turned into a large festering herpes wound. How fun for me. I don't need a biopsy to know, it's herpes. I've had a bit of a bout with swollen lymph nodes, fever, and overall yuck. I didn't see a doctor because it was the weekend and I wanted to see if it would go away for a day or two. I usually take chinese herbs at the first sign of a cold and never get fully sick, but this lasted more than 24 hours so I new it was something different. As always when something comes up medically I try to research online to feel empowered. I'm here to mention the wonders of Apple Cider Vinegar. My festering wound over a couple of days turned into a giant scab a top a large red mound that seemed to be competing with my nose for who could stick out the farthest. I had read that this was the period when it would heal because it's scabbed but who the hell wants to walk around with a scab on their face. Anyway, this morning after I decided I could no longer look at this awful scab on my chin I used tweezers to remove it hoping it had had enough time to heal beneath. Well, it didn't. Immediately it started oozing and breathing and winking as if to laugh at my naivet'e. I think I even heard it growl once but that may have been the dog next door. Well, long story too long, I decided to use apple cider vinegar on the wound. I just kept pouring it on my chin letting it air dry fully, then any ooze got dabbed off with tissue and then another pour and air dry. After about maybe 10 or so times going through this the gaping wound finally gave up it's relentless fight and went dry with out needing to scab. Victory was mine. The rest of the day it has significantly reduced and I feel like I can almost show my face to the world without being embarrassed. The real problem with the herpes virus is it's friggin' ugly.. If it gets to the point of being an open wound, apple cider vinegar will heal it faster. I've also drank a cap full 3 times today mixed with apple juice. That plus vitamins and L-Lysine for the past couple days may have been helping, but the scabby, woundy part is healed because of straight apple cider vinegar poured on it. I'm confident that I will know the signs earlier next time and use other remedies to catch it BEFORE it becomes the messy roommate living on my face that it became this time. Knowledge is power. Thanks for letting me share in the posters knowledge and to now add mine. Peace.

Vicks

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.

L-Lysine, Nail Polish Remover

Posted by Michelle (Brooklyn, N.Y.) on 04/01/2008
★★★★★

I have been suffering from cold sores since I was a kid. As long as I wear sunscreen on my lips when I leave the house day or night I do not get them. Occasionally I forget, and that is what happened a week ago. I decided to try this wonderful site and tried the lysine pill and the nail polish remover. Now I do not know which one worked but that nasty cold sore was completly gone in 2 days. This has NEVER happened before. I am so glad this site exist. I will no longer worry when I get a cold sore because i now found an instant cure. I will use both remedies since I do not know which one worked and I also take one lysine pill a day. Thanks!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Shandra (Sacramento, CA) on 06/10/2007
★★★★★

About seven years ago I dated a guy who came with a prize, undisclosed to me! Within the first month I was breaking out. The first time was the worst; I experienced pain like no other, I quickly proceeded to visit my doctor who wasted no time to diagnose me with this lovely virus. I was getting large embarrassing blisters round my mouth at least 4-5 times a year and I would have genital outbreaks about 10 times a year... I seriously went into depression, gained weight and stopped having a life. I was embarrassed knowing that I could never address the issue with a potential counterpart and of course I could not be irresponsible, as the guy who was irresponsible with me. What have I done? How have things changed in my life? Well number one, I started a regular exercise program. I run 3-4 times a week. I topped eating processed meals - (no restaurants, no fast food, no packages, no cans, no boxes, and no microwave popcorn, nothing out of a package, nothing frozen). So what am I eating? I eat fruits all day, until I gag. I eat Vegetables all day, until I gag. I eat oats and whole wheat, in the form of "old fashioned oatmeal", "wheat bread" 'brown rice", you get the picture. I eat meat two to three times a week, mostly chicken and once or twice a month I eat fish. I keep beef to a minimum. I eat a variety of mixed nuts. . these are RAW nuts . almonds, peanuts with skin, cashews, sunflower, flax seed, pumpkin seed . you get the idea. I stopped drinking wine, coffee, tea and I stopped smoking. I drink water all day long, till I gag. I drink 8oz of milk daily and I drink home made smoothies and juices and vegetable juice. I take prenatal vitamins (I am not pregnant). Since, I am a girl and I have sugar cravings. guess what. there is honey. I use natural honey on toast, on my Oatmeal, in my milk.you get the idea.

I try to exclude white table sugar, white table salt, white flour, sodium, cholesterol, fats. But I don't count the natural sugars in fruits and the oils in the nuts. The only thing I really track is my protein intake; I try to make sure I have enough protein daily. (Protein is balanced according to ones height, weight, gender, activity level)

Since I started paying attention to my body, eating what my body needs, dinking what my body needs and taking all the vitamins that my body needs: I have not had an outbreak in over one year. ALSO, I have lost weight, I feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. At 43, I feel that I am in GREAT shape! Of course I still need to overcome my fears of having a difficult conversation with the possibility of a rejection, which is something I will have to live with the rest of my life.

This seems to work for me. If you would like to try something similar please consult your doctor prior to making any changes in your diet. Good luck!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Jennifer (San Diego) on 05/25/2006
★★★★★

I haven't been able to really find any other explanations or any information regarding this on the web but I have been on a low carb diet for 2 years now. I do consume splenda and aspartame (although I try to avoid aspartame) but since starting my low carb diet I have been breakout free. Prior to going low carb I typically had 5-6 breakouts a year for the 5 prior years I had the virus. Low carb diets have an effect on how your body metabolizes splenda and aspartame which may be why these have not caused more breakouts for me. I also know that a high-protein diet is high in natural l-lysine so that may be what has helped to stop the breakouts. The amazing thing is that although I have tested positive for years, I have been tested twice in the last six months and tested negative for the virus both times, which I am told is rare, but possible. I'm not getting too excited about those results just yet - but if anyone has had a similar experience I would LOVE to know!

Dietary Recommendations

Posted by Deb (Dayton, OH) on 03/15/2007
★★★★★

I just wanted to add to all the great info about herpes. I have found that the greatest culprits to preceed a herpes outbreak are the consumption of chocolate and nuts (except almonds). These are high in L-arginine, so whenever I eat these things, I take some lysine to counteract the effects of the arginine. I eat a natural diet and don't get outbreaks, except when I forget to do this. It's always "oh, yeah, I had a buch of nuts yesterday!