Cold Sores Remedies – Personal Experiences with 20 Different Remedies

Here’s a list of 20 various remedies that myself and my friends have tried and found effective to one degree or another, plus our personal comments and opinions on each one.  I really hope that you not only find this list useful but actually go ahead and try some of these yourself and post your results in the comments–also, if you’ve got a remedy for cold sores that you’d like to contribute, believe me you’re more than welcome to post that as well, and thank you so much for your contribution!

1. I woke up and my cold sore was already open, but this is what I did to have it gone by the next morning…I melted an entire ice cube on my sore, even tho it’s a little painful at first..Then dab the sore to dry it and put rubbing alcohol on immediately after with a Q-tip..I did this once every 30 min. to an hour, and by the next morning, you couldn’t see a thing!!!
2. When you first fell a cold sore coming take Lysine Tablets, 2 tablets 3 times a day. Starts fighting off the cold sore before it forms. Also put the Lysine topical cream on. Helps it from getting really big and helps it heal up really fast!




3. When you feel it starting to come out take a Q-tip and soak an end in mouthwash.Next apply the soaked end to it and hold for several minutes.I use this all the time and find it works best.
4. Dab Tea Tree Oil on it several times a day. Works very good!!
5. Aloe Vera – This home remedy for cold sores will work if you your cold sore does blister on you. Take a leaf from an aloe vera plant and rub the liquid from it onto your cold sore blister. It may sound strange, but it gives results. Do this a few times a day and at night. Within a day or two your cold sore will be gone. I know people who will grow aloe plants in their home just for this very reason.
6. Vitamin B – Taking vitamin B supplements has been shown to help get rid of a cold sore. Vitamin B-12 works especially well. [I also personally think that Vitamin C helps as well because it boosts your immune system, which I mention here: Get Rid Of Cold Sore in 24 Hours At Home]
7. Coconut Oil – Take 100ml of coconut oil, 2ml of dettol, and 3ml or carbolic acid and mix them together. Apply twice daily directly on your cold sore. Some people say this formula also works on boils and mosquito bites.
8. My Doctor suggested this and it works like a charm. Take a tube of chap stick PLAIN flavored , break open a capsule of benadryl and sprinkle the powder on the top of the chap stick , rub on the cold sore so as to make a paste of balm and benadryl powder. First day will dry it up…and within 3 days no sign of a cold sore at all!
9. Rubbing aloe, lemon balm extract, or tea bags to cold sores is also known to lessen their size and help reduce pain. Drinking less coffee is another home remedy for cold sores. It is believed that coffee can be a catalyst in the formation of cold sores. It is recommended that people who are susceptible to cold sores cut back on their coffee intake.
10. There are also some foods that you do not want to eat when experiencing a cold sore. These foods will only make the problem worse. Avoid eating chocolate, oatmeal, seeds, peas, nuts, and any wheat products. [this sounds fishy--kinda like the old wives tale about chocolate making acne worse, which has been disproved many times over, anyone know anything about this one?]
11. Another home remedy is salt. Regular powdered salt can be applied directly to the affected area of the skin using the forefinger. Make sure to slightly wet the finger prior to application of salt. Slightly press on the sores using the finger with salt. Follow on with Aloe Vera cream or skin lubricant for a more soothing action.
12. Applying Witch Hazel on sores will give you some relief. Dip your moist index finger in powdered common salt and press the sore for 30 seconds using this index finger.
13. Petroleum Jelly will keep the sore area and skin around it from cracking.
14. Eucalyptus Oils, like the kind you put under your nose and on your chest with a cold, may speed healing and reduce pain.
15. Doctors today are recommending to patients that they take plenty of vitamins and supplements. Vitamin C is one of the most popular because it has proven to promote healthy skin, prevent viral infections, such as common colds, and so on. Vitamin C and E are recommended also, because the two have an antioxidant to help fight viruses. Vitamins can be used to improve various body functions. Vitamin B-5 for example is one of the most recommended supplements for controlling cold sores. Vitamin B-5 is helpful for reducing stress. Since medical experts associate the cause of these sores to stress, it is logical that the vitamin can help by reducing the stress.
16. If I keep the area covered with a heavy, greasy type ointment–either Carmex or DCT Blistex–it tends to almost prevent an imminent outbreak…
17. Taking ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) or acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) to reduce pain. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20 because of its link to Reye’s syndrome.
18. Using a mouth rinse that has baking soda to soothe a sore mouth.
19. Avoiding foods that contain acid (such as citrus fruits and tomatoes).
20. Using nonprescription ointments (such as Orajel or Anbesol) that numb sore areas in the mouth or on the lips.

How the cold sore virus replicates and how to stop it

This is going to go into a bit of detail, there’s going to be a bit of science and some medical terms, but if you’ll stick with me til the end you’ll really have an excellent understanding of how this nasty little virus works and how a few simple tweaks in what you eat (most importantly: what to stop eating) and maybe a special supplement you probably haven’t heard of before (don’t worry, I’m not selling it and it’s not expensive) can not only eliminate your cold sore in a day or two but also prevent them from every coming back again. Let’s get started…

What causes a cold sore?

A cold sore is an outward symptom of an outbreak of the Herpes Simplex Virus (usually Type 1, aka “HSV-1″, although HSV-2 can cause oral herpes) usually due to a decreased in immune function, a very common cause of which is exposure to cold weather hence the name “cold sore”. To the left you will see the culprit: that’s HSV-1 magnified 169,000 times by scanning electron microscope–growl at it or flip it the bird if it makes you feel better

The herpes virus remains dormant in the sensory nerve cells of your face until an outbreak, and no, sorry, there’s no cure: once you’ve been infected, you’ve got it for life. It’s almost always going to be the type 1 strain (HSV-1) of herpes that causes oral cold sores, however cases of HSV-2 causing them have been documented, so it’s possible, although rare. However, 1 in 6 cases of genital herpes are causes by HSV-1 (genital herpes is usually associated with HSV-2), so that’s somewhat more likely, although the old axiom that if it’s above the waist it’s HSV-1 and if it’s below the waist it’s HSV-2 does still generally hold true.

How Did I Originally Get Infected? Or: WHY GRANDMA WHY?!?!

Studies have shown that, the vast majority of the time, oral herpes is transmitted most commonly in someone’s youth when they are kissed by a relative who’s infected and suffering from an active cold sore outbreak–yeah, that sucks. This is especially likely if you started getting cold sores when you were a small child, which would mean that you were infected when you were very young and therefore most likely acquired it from close contact with an infected relative suffering from an active outbreak. If you acquired it later in life then something else is probably the cause, most likely that you acquired it from an intimate partner through physical contact i.e. kissing someone with a cold sore.

Cold Sore Treatments, Medications, and Remedies

There’s a great variety of treatments that myself and my friends have tried over the years: most of us originally went the prescription-combined-with-OTC (over-the-counter) route where we were prescribed something like Acyclovir or Valacyclovir and then used an OTC cream like Abreva. Over the years we’ve found (myself included) that the best those can do is to shave 1 maybe 2 days off of an outbreak, and that’s about it. We’ve found, through trial-and-error between us over the years, that there are more effective remedies you can put together in your kitchen. Not only that, but there are preventative measures that you can take which will often prevent a cold sore outbreak altogether from happening again, ever, from supplements like l-lysine and Vitamin B-12 to minor but hugely effective little diet changes like avoiding vinegar at certain times because it lowers your blood pH levels and creates an environment much more favorable to the virus replicating and wreaking havoc on your face.

pH Levels, Oxygen, and Stopping the Virus Cold in Its Tracks

The Herpes Simplex Type I virus that causes your cold sores has a very narrow pH range that its environment must be within for it to be able to live and reproduce (by the way, pH is just how acidic or basic something is–acids have a low pH and bases, such as lye, have a high pH) your body’s own pH range can easily sway into this territory from time to time due to a number of factors, the most common causes of which are stress, decreased immune function, certain foods, lack of sleep, and excess sunlight–now, where have you seen these factors mentioned before? Probably in an article you read about the most common triggers for cold sores, right? Even if you haven’t read about it I’m sure you already know it anyway because you almost certainly would have noticed it: your cold sores tend to occur when you’re stressed out, when your immune system is down (this most commonly occurs when you’re ill or when it’s very cold out), when your diet changes (usually in an unhealthy way, such as the addition of junk food you weren’t eating before), when you’re not getting enough sleep, etc., right?

The reason for this is that when you allow these things to happen to you, you’re creating an environment that is the most favorable for the virus to reproduce and live in (it’s when the virus starts suddenly massively reproducing that you get cold sores) by altering your normal pH level for the worse and making it very difficult for your immune system to keep the virus at bay, which it does most of the time, which is why you don’t have cold sores most of the time–your immune system is doing it’s job, it’s only when you make it difficult for it to do its job that problems start to pop up. So, essentially, if you can get your pH level back to normal then the cold sores vanish (this is a bit of an oversimplification, but I just don’t have the room here to explain the whole process). Plus, if you just follow a couple simple guidelines concerning diet and cheap, over-the-counter supplements, you can possibly prevent them from ever coming back, or at least make them very rare (most people who follow the program described below will go several years between cold sores, which is usually a huge improvement for them). Now, how do you do that?

My friend Derek, after a couple years of experimentation (primarily on himself! he suffered horribly from cold sores for years) and some consultation with several doctors and herbal specialists, came up with a program he shared with me a couple years back that took some things we already knew about how to get rid of cold sores (taking l-lysine, avoiding stress and too much sunlight, yada yada) to a whole other level, I mean I was just completely blown away, what he originally showed me was a multi-page, super-detailed program he came up with that utilized a few small (as in they won’t inconvenience you) adjustments in diet that make a big difference primarily involving what not to eat, along with a combination of several herbal supplements (one is l-lysine, but the dosage is different from what you’d normally take since you’re combining it with other supplements) including a new one I’d never heard of called “cat’s claw” that came from some weird tree bark in the Peruvian rain forest, plus a couple others that, when combined, have a very powerful and immediate effect on your body’s pH level and can quickly bring the Herpes virus to a dead halt, but they have to be combined just right in the correct dosages, plus your diet has to be right because if you’re eating any of the several things that can throw off your pH level then it might not work. He’s currently put together a fantastic 84-page report you can get here (it’s pretty easy reading, you can get through it in a couple hours, no worries) that I highly recommend you check out, just listen to what the guy has to say, he knows what he’s doing believe me. I wish I could just give the whole thing to you here, but it’s 84 pages long and there’s just no way I can fit that into a blog post, plus he won’t let me due to copyright issues (I asked already, in fact I had to be careful about how much I gave away to you here about his method!).

I just can’t tell you how much of a difference this has made in my life, I used to suffer from cold sores nearly every other month, it was horrible: cold outside? cold sore. hot outside? cold sore. job-related stress? cold sore. the flu? cold sore bonus, yay! have trouble sleeping? cold sore. I haven’t had one in nearly 3 1/2 years now, and it all started when I first got that e-mail from Derek detailing something he spent years testing and researching and months writing the rough draft. At the time I had a terrible outbreak, two on my mouth and one just on the edge of my nostril, and they were gone in 48 hours, never to return. I follow his simple guidelines about not eating certain foods when I’m especially susceptible to cold sores (I’m stressed, not getting enough sleep, feeling a little under the weather, etc.) and I always take my daily supplements (3 little pills, which are good for you and have multiple other benefits, plus they’re cheap as dirt from my local drug store). If I feel a cold sore coming on, that familiar little tingle, I up the dosage to the level he recommends for when you actually have a cold sore (quite a bit higher than the normal dosage you use to prevent them) and then the tingle goes away and I never see a cold sore pop up, works every time. Again, just for your own benefit I’d recommend you check out his site and see what he has to say, it’ll take 5 minutes, that’s it: go here to learn how to eliminate cold sores in just a day or two and keep them from coming back ever again.

Cheers,

Lizzy

Cold Sores Remedies – Personal Experiences with 20 Different Remedies is a post from: Cold Sores Home Remedies from Canada