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.
Acetone
Posted by Fmb (Vancouver) on 08/09/2013
★★★★★
YEA Acetone really does work - it's amazing. I wanted to explain a few details I experienced with the acetone treatment.
I've been getting cold sore outbreaks for about 15 years now - I'm 39 - I found that taking 1000mg Lysine daily has kept me free of outbreaks for 4 years - I ran out, didn't take lysine for only 2 days and BAM my upper lip had the start of BIG nasty large vesicles - Couldn't believe it - no prodrome tingling, no warning. It was slightly obsured by my moustache so I didn't really notice it right away. This one just by the initial size was gonna be a major disaster.
I read all the miracle stories about it, so I tried the acetone on a cotton swab placed directly onto the sore for 5min at a time every 30min for the first day. To stop evaporation I used clear packing tape to press the swab right onto the sore. Don't be afraid to PRESS the acetone into the sore - it will burn bad but it's like you can also feel the acetone destroying the HSV inside.
The next morning I woke up and I thought Lisa Rinna's plastic surgeon had snuck into my bed and plumped up my lip with silicone - It was HUGE, I actually laughed in the mirror because it looked so ridiculous. However, the sore had gone directly to scab healing stage.
The following morning the swelling had almost completely gone and after my shower the scab had worn off and the final pink healing scab remained. So literally 48 hours from the start of what was to be a colossal large sore on my lip it's already to the point of what normally takes about 10 days to get to.
1000mg Lysine daily is the long-term cure you want to get on - but if you miss a Lysine and one pops up Acetone is what you need 100% - Do not even bother with anything else and start it as soon as you see or feel one coming on.
Acetone is also totally safe for your skin - read up about it on wikipedia - It's even used as a food additive!
Ted's Remedy Feedback
Posted by Zark (Emerald City, The Land Of Oz, The Land Of Oz) on 08/07/2013
★★★★★
Hi there, I will copy Ted From Bangkok's latest info for combatting Herpes Virus (latest I can find is 2012).
07/31/2012: Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Yes, that is a weak remedy. I might try a stronger one, with BHT 500 mg, twice a day, lysine 1000 every hour for 4 hours once a day, and vitamin C 500 mg five times a day, for a month. You can also take the lysine twice a day, for four hours twice a day, with threonine, 500 mg at same time taken with lysine. There is a more powerful remedy than that, but I believe starting with the weakest one and gradually increasing strength is the safest way to go. Lithium is also antiviral and is taken at 5 mg a day before sleep and so is Lugols, but that's another remedy.
Ted"
-- Source: https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/herpes_questions.html
Gluten-Free Diet, L-Lysine
Posted by Searching For Health (North Of The Border) on 08/06/2013
★★★★★
I have gotten cold sores for approximately 7 years. They started spreading all over my lips - but the ones that were new were not tingling like they originally did and came without warning. I was taking so much aciclovir and valciver. Then... I got exceedingly itchy blisters on my fingers, followed by unbelievable swelling in that finger. The pain is intense and the itchiness – OMG! (Apple cider vinegar helped alleviate these side effects - Thanks to you on Earth Clinic) I had a bout of this on my fingers for 4 months. I could not use my hands. I thought it was herpes whitlow. What cleared it up was when I was on a diet of only rice with fried vegetables – no flavorings or soy sauce added. The problem cleared up in about 5 days! Both my fingers and lips. Simultaneously, I had a brain fog clear up and anxiety that had been thwarting me for about 2 years. I then found out I am completely unable to eat Gluten. I guess the rash thing is a form of Dermatitis Herpetiformis (NOT HERPES! ) which is a consequence of not being able to tolerate gluten. (I still got the original and authentic Herpes cold sore that tingles - but it comes much less often as I take Lysine daily and it seems to come less often now that my body is not fighting the "poison" that I was eating previously). Before I had that authentic cold sore almost every 2 weeks. I am also unable to have most additives to food, and food that is GMO or treated with pesticides. For the last 3 months I have been strictly eating only at and home and it has stayed clear. I eat 100% organic, gluten free and no longer eat packaged food.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Joey (Ny) on 07/26/2013
I'm curious to know if ingesting or inhaling H2O2 really works to eradicate the HSV 1 virus. So far, I've read annecdotal comments about its effectiveness but haven't heard of any real studies that confirm this. What is the science behind it and have you been tested negative since undergoing your treatment?
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Layla (Melbourne) on 07/16/2013
Have you had another test done recently and was it a blood test? What did your low-carb diet consist of exactly?
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Layla (Australia) on 07/16/2013
Did you have genetal or oral herpes?
Garlic
Posted by Anon (Australia) on 07/04/2013
★★★★★
YEA to garlic, ice and honey for cold sores. I tend to get cold sores on my lips when I'm run-down and haven't been sleeping and/or eating very well. I usually don't get a tingling sensation until after the little monster rears it ugly head, the only sign I have to go off is dry, chapped lips, which can easily be attributed to the winter weather.
Noticed the tiny, tingly/itchy bump when I woke up a yesterday and freaked out because I'm volunteering at a week-long event starting tomorrow and didn't want a massive blister in the centre of my bottom lip. I usually use Zovirax but that usually takes over a week to heal and even then has left small blemishes/scars.
I read on another site about the garlic remedy and decided to test it out. Cut a clove of garlic in half and crushed it to release the juices, then held it over the bump for about thirty seconds. Burned like no tomorrow, but the tingling sensation was gone and never came back. Once the burning sensation had died, I soaked some paper towel and dabbed it clean before applying honey. Repeated every few hours. Next day, no blister! Just a small scab that's a good half or third the size of my usual sores.
Came here to see what other natural remedies could be added to the program, but I don't fancy the idea of popping or invading the wound to apply solutions for fear of infection and chemical solutions like acetone or hydrogen peroxide scare me. At any rate, I now use a clove of garlic, followed by a cube of ice, dab it dry and then add a touch of honey, applied every couple of hours. Swelling is pretty much non-existent and there is no tingling or itchiness at all. From the looks of things it'll be gone in a day or two! (Fastest recovery time ever! )
Acetone
Posted by Ed (Kent, Wa) on 06/16/2013
★★★★★
Acetone works. I am 59, and have suffered from cold sores all my life. The last 2 years were the worst. I get irritation in the right eye, then irritation around the nose as the early signs of a virus attack when my body immune system is week. One never knows the status of one's immune system, but sometimes there might be early signs.
I take Famciclovir when the irritation starts and apply apple cider vinegar to my lips at work, or Acetone with a cotton Q-tip at home. I figure the complicated use and smell of Acetone at work might draw the attention of co-workers.
Here is what I have learned,
1- Stress life is present all the time.
2- Acidic foods help virus activation.
3- Do not eat fruits or too much meat. Meats including fish and specially shell fish are very acidic. Fruits are acidic and have lots of sugar that contributes to virus activation and growth.
4- Do not drink coffee or tea. Do not eat chocolate.
5- Do not eat animal products more than 3 times a week.
6- Eat green leafy and root vegetables.
7- Lime or lime juice is the best. Include a lime in your daily diet.
8- Eat a cucumber and a tomato every day, or make a cucumber, tomato and onion salad with a fresh lime juice and some cayenne pepper part of you daily diet.
Garlic
Posted by Fae (Santa Rosa, Ca) on 06/11/2013
★★★★★
The juice of fresh raw garlic clove applied topically stops a cold sore dead in its tracks! Results are felt instantly. I've tried many of the natural Earth Clinic remedies for cold sores (ice, peroxide, L-lysine, nail polish remover, etc. ) with varying degrees of success so when I say it works almost immediately, I am speaking from experience! As soon as you feel that dreaded tingle or see any sign of the blister, peel a raw clove, nick the end to release the juices (or smash it in a garlic press) and apply to the sore. Hold it on there for about 15 seconds. It will sting like a sonuva..but that is the garlic juice doing its job and is actually a satisfying sensation. I usually only have to do this 2 or 3 times within an hour or two, holding it on there for about 15 seconds each time (any longer and the strong juice may irritate the skin) and the virus inside the cold sore dies or retreats. You can feel it! Any physical damage the cold sore has caused will have to heal in it's own time which is why it's best to catch it before there is any visible sign but even when I had a big red swollen bubble, it flattened within an hour, dried up and flaked off within a day or so. Instantly effective and dependable! I have read that garlic is a strong anti-viral and it is now my only cold sore treatment. I love Earth Clinic and wanted to share this simple but effective cold sore cure.
Honey
Posted by Garion (New York, Ny) on 05/04/2013
★★★★☆
Honey usually works when I catch the cold sore during that "tingling" stage. But, just recently I think the sun did me in and 2 days later I broke out. I could fill my lip getting swollen and irritated and see it being red but I was at work and didn't have the honey available. I got home and did the honey but by the next day, full on blisters. I was applying the honey but it was too late. And the cold sore is now progressing thru the states.
So, for honey to work, for me, I need to catch it right at the tingling stage. Or else it seems it's too late.
Avoiding The Sun
Posted by Maremarecalif (Concord, Ca) on 04/19/2013
★★★★☆
For years I would get cold sores and I could not figure out why.. I'm 70yrs now and about 5 years ago the answer came.. It was the sun that brought them on for me... I am fair skin and I have a large lot.. I do all the yard work , that includes making patios with pavers, digging up sewer pipes etc... The days I'm in the sun too long, the next day I will feel bumps next to my lips and I know whats coming Blisters... So now I do most of my yard work late in the day or very early in the am.. If I do get one, I use camphor.
Red Marine Algae, L-Lysine
Posted by Kristine (Rome, Italy) on 04/18/2013
Red Marine Algae (difficult to find outside of the USA) and L-Lysine taken in the early stages of a heperes outbreak works wonders, even regarding furture break-outs!
L-Lysine
Posted by Cs (Sg, Sgp) on 04/16/2013
★★★★★
I've tried just about everything. Lysine is the only thing that works.
Artificial Sweetener Link to Herpes
Posted by Art 1a. (Vancouver BC, Canada) on 04/05/2013
I have been off artificial sweeteners for some time now. The other day being 5 days ago I went out to mow the grass. I had a bottle of flavored water 1/2 full sitting in my cup holder. It had been there for 7 months since the last time I use the tractor. I drank it like I have done before, after all it, s just flavored water and it still tasted pretty good. The cap was on tight and the garage is cold. Anyway I got a Cold Sore 2 hours later on my upper lip. Now any time before if I was to hold my keys with my teeth and the key touched my lower lip I would get a break out on that spot. So this must be some kind of bacteria causing it.
I am taking BHT for another problem but it does not help with this. So I guess the next time I will try the ACV trick and see if that does the trick.
art 1a.
Licorice and Peppermint Root Extract
Posted by Jazzz (Delta Junction, Alaska, Usa) on 03/19/2013
★★★★☆
While I have yet to find any success curing my cold sores, I have found one particular thing which prevents them.
It seems that certain remedies work well for one type of person but not the other, in the past I have tried Lysine, over the counter meds (they worked for a while), ice cubes, finger nail polish remover.... Ummm just about everything. Non of those worked well for me, for the past three years I have been using a licorice/peppermint root extract in gelled form. When I feel a cold sore coming on and I use this (I apply it every several hours at the onset) it never comes, I use this if I know I might get a cold sore (I'm sick or something), and I use this on my son. Unfortunetly, he doesn't know when a cold sore is coming on so it is usually already surfaced by the time I see it. However, when I put it on him the cold sore goes away very quickly and stops growing. I have noticed that over the years my cold sores are getting farther apart. I use to get them about 8 times a year and now its about 3-4.
If nothing else has worked for you, this might be the one- because nothing ever worked for me!
Acetone
Posted by Lilli (Kenmore, Wa) on 03/15/2013
★★★★★
My thanks for another wonderful and effective remedy from the Earth Clinic forum.
Every time I have a cold I get a runny nose. From all the wiping and irritation I develop a cold sore... In my nose!!! They are always painful and last a long time. I tried all the OTC products, they only cover up the sore and keep it moist; the exact opposite of what I should have been doing.
A few days ago, I took a q-tip and swabbed all the small blisters in my nose with acetone. I did this once an hour for 3-4 hours. The first thing I noticed was that the throbbing pain went away. I continued to apply the acetone throughout the day. Before bedtime, most blisters had dried up. I applied it once more before I went to bed. Then next day there were no more blisters.
Three days later, the skin is a bit red and needs to heal. I am using a combination of 100% aloe covered with antibiotic salve because I still have the cold and want to protect the area.
Thanks again for the great advice!
Ketogenic Diet
Posted by Cedar (Boston, Massachusetts) on 03/06/2013
★★★★★
I am a female who used to get herpes outbreaks one after another for two years. I was very frustrated, I tried everything from Chinese Herbs, Ayurvedic Herbs, Urotherapy, ACV, De-worming, acetone. I was following a vegetarian diet and jogged regularly. Nothing worked for me, and I would get outbreaks every two weeks, which each took two weeks to heal, so, "continuously" one after another.. I would get fever-ish, weak, depressed, get nerve pains up and down my legs that felt like shingles.. It was awful!
I decided to stop all cardio for a month and do resistance training (Jamie Eason's LiveFit trainer to be exact.. Free online program), and follow a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein, low carb), and all of a sudden, no outbreaks or pains for 6 months.
Colloidal Silver, Coconut Oil
Posted by Alakhi (Livingston, Mt) on 02/20/2013
Try DMSO, it really works on cold sores!
Colloidal Silver, Coconut Oil
Posted by Gonna Try Again (Fort Lauderdale, Fl, Usa) on 02/20/2013
★★★★★
Read on EarthClinic about both Monolaurin and Collodial Silver (CS) for cold sore, and fiqured that I would give it a shot. For about a month, I took CS five times daily and two coconut oil supps each time I took the CS. That was a year ago (Should note that I can go years between a cold sore). This weekend was a bit cold and I may have also had an allergic reaction to orange juice which caused my lips to burn/itch. I put Carmex on it and today woke up with a small cold sore. It is so small that it is barely visible. I added some topical CS and it is already drying up.
Obviously a month of CS and coconut oil supplements did not cure the virus, but I cant deny that this is probably the smallest coldsore I have had in a while. So I'm going to try taking the CS and supps longer to see if it will finally go away FOREVER!!
Garlic
Posted by Anonymous (Nc) on 02/08/2013
★★★☆☆BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
Garlic works. However, garlic will eat up the infected area and leave a hole! I used garlic for a boil under my arm and it left me with a hole. The skin grew back but it was not pretty. Be careful with garlic. Very potent stuff!
L-Lysine
Posted by Neukoln (Edinburgh, Scotland, Uk) on 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 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!
