# Cold sores



## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Any suggestions in dealing with cold sores? The $15.00 for a small tube of Abreva is killing me. :shrug:


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## rivesjct3768 (Jul 19, 2006)

roadless said:


> Any suggestions in dealing with cold sores? The $15.00 for a small tube of Abreva is killing me. :shrug:


 I have great success using Vitamin E oil when I first feel the tingle on my lip. Just pierce one of the oil capsules and apply oil directly to the sore. Also Melaleuca ointment works well.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

Take a couple of L-lysine capsules when you first feel it and it'll never come out. Take the L-lysine after it comes out and it'll shrink it up and take away the pain. I use witch hazel on mine to clean it and speed healing without drying it up and making it bleed.

RedTartan


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I use a little baking soda and water to draw it out. If you catch it quick it will make it much smaller. It might sting a bit at first.

I get them from using any salve with petroleum products or drinking from plastic water, or soda bottles.


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## jynxt (Apr 5, 2004)

I'll second the L-Lysine...only we take two doses a day up to 1500 mg until the sore or threatened sore is completely healed. We also use apple cider vinegar to dab on it every so often to help dry it up and heal it and to prevent an infection....my youngest ds seems to always get his infected other wise.

I'll also second avoid balms and salves with petroleum products and the plastic drinking gear though I'm not sure why either one of those things make cold sores come or take longer to go away.


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## A'sta at Hofstead (Sep 20, 2006)

The melaleuca or tea tree would be my first choice. My 13 yo dd had a horrible canker sore, I had her swish with tea tree oil and warm water and salt and it was better in the am.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

jynxt said:


> I'll second the L-Lysine...only we take two doses a day up to 1500 mg until the sore or threatened sore is completely healed. We also use apple cider vinegar to dab on it every so often to help dry it up and heal it and to prevent an infection....my youngest ds seems to always get his infected other wise.
> 
> I'll also second avoid balms and salves with petroleum products and the plastic drinking gear though I'm not sure why either one of those things make cold sores come or take longer to go away.


Here is a third vote for L-Lysine! I take it every two days on an empty stomach during the winter (dry air) season. It seems that I get cold sores then and not in summer.


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## Kee Wan (Sep 20, 2005)

L-Lysine is a great help. Another thing that you can do is expose the area to fIr light. THe far infraded light is harmful to the virus and makes it hard for it to comtinue to multiply.


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

roadless said:


> Any suggestions in dealing with cold sores? The $15.00 for a small tube of Abreva is killing me. :shrug:


I have been plagued by cold sores and canker sores for as long as I can remember. The past two years I have been taking l-lysine, an amino acid supplement, and I get few cold sores, and when I do they are tiny.

I take one 500 mg tablet daily for prevention. If I am going to travel, or if I feel a head cold or flu coming on, I increase it to one 500 mg tablet twice a day until the stress is over or cold is gone. 

Lysine interferes with cellular use of arginine in herpesvirus replication. It's not mumbo jumbo. It's real science. And it works.

We also use it in cats to control THEIR herpes (upper respiratory virus) issues and eye problems. Works great in them, too.


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## Shazza (Nov 20, 2004)

Whenever I feel them coming..always in the same spot...I squeeze them and get out all the stuff and then use an alchohol swap on them...really stings but works....every time for the last few years it has worked.


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## oberhaslikid (May 13, 2002)

I cant even be in the same room with someone that has one or I have it in the morning or Run my self ragged and I wake with one. I cant use anything with Menthol or Camphor or it gets Huge,Swelling, I look like I have a chicken beak. They also would last 2 to 3 weeks.Then I tryed Neosporin and it worked and was going away in 3 to 4 days it would be gone.I just got rid of one Go to $ store and get their brand it works too. I did buy the neosporin for the lips to carry in my purse for on the go.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

As soon as you feel the tingle that tells you one is coming on, put ice on it. Hold the ice on as long as you can stand it. Repeat as often as you can.


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## swampgirl (Aug 29, 2006)

Cold sores are cause by a virus called Herpes simplex type I. A complete round of a good antiviral medication, prescribed by a doc, is the first thing to do. Once this is done, the cold sores will not recur as frequently. But keep the prescription anti-viral medicine on hand and at the first sign of tingling or itching, take the medicine for just one or two days.
Please don't touch the open sore, as you might rub your eyes & get them infected.


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## Milkwitch (Nov 11, 2006)

L-Lysine !!!!! works every time. I caught them from my 2nd husband, he used to get them all over his mouth and chin! I got them twice a year like clock work for 20 years, till a lady gave me the L-Lysine. I do not get them now!!! I pop two caps when I feel the first tingle and one daily till the tingle stops! No sores!


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## wilderness1989 (Feb 23, 2006)

my mother always put a hunk of alum on the sore, it burned but it worked. my 2 cents.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

l-lysine has always worked,


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

I used to pound the LLysine when I had a cold sore, but now I start using just a dab of Tea tree oil. A few times a day, as soon as I feel a tingle.
I also have a lip balm with tea tree oil in it and use it ONLY when I have a cold sore. I DON'T use it when the sore is gone.


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

We take the L-lysine every day and no longer have cold sores. When I did get them, at the lst hint of one I would put a dab of yoghurt on it and continue a few times and they would go away! Rita


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## BasicLiving (Oct 2, 2006)

Well, some of you may remember me from other recent posts on this forum - but I recently went through swollen lymph nodes and am currently dealing with thrush. A couple of days ago I sprouted 2 remarkably HUGE fever blisters - overnight. I dipped cotton balls in apple cider vinegar and held them to the fever blisters for several minutes - and did it every time I thought of it. By that night, they were significantly reduced and the pain was gone. The next day I bought tea tree oil and dipped a q-tip in it and applied to the blisters. By that night they were dried up and peeling.

So I'm not sure if it was the vinegar or the Tea Tree Oil, but that's the quickest I've ever gotten rid of fever blisters! Now I'll swear by either or both.

Penny


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## TexasArtist (May 4, 2003)

The Quatum health care product folks have a good lip balm made with the Lysine. Comes in plain , strawberry ,orange. You can order directly from them and it's about 3 or 4 bucks a tube. Darn good stuff although I would not recommend the plain. Taste like your chewing on a candle. 
Another thing would be to watch you arginine intake. If it gets above the lysine intake it can help bring them about.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Thank you all! TexasArtist, what the heck is arginine?


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## sullen (Oct 14, 2004)

BasicLiving said:


> but I recently went through swollen lymph nodes and am currently dealing with thrush.
> Penny


You know you could up your immune system by taking acidophilus. Will prevent thrush.


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## sullen (Oct 14, 2004)

I would also like to ad that anyone who gets "cold sores" but regular cold sore remedies don't work, it could be a niacin deficiency. My oldest gets cold sores but my ds8 gets something that cold sore stuff only makes worse, nurse told me he has a niacin deficiency. I found some niacin pills, now I just give him 1 and his sore is gone ASAP.


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## cozyhollow-gal (Sep 11, 2002)

I opt for *L-Lysine*.  I am currently dealing with a cold sore. If you take L-Lysine at first sign of a cold sore, it works best. But still works to shorten the time of healing if taken after the cold sore arrives. best taken first thing in the am on empty stomach. I also dab on neosporin a few times thru the day. This decreases the pain and helps it dry up faster. 
Also use vinegar and tea tree oil. (according to what I have on hand and remember) Just dab on several times a day along with taking L-Lysine.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I seem to get cold sores far more often in the winter months than the summer and they occur on the same spot. So, I recently started taking L-Lysine every other day. Sunday, I felt that tingly feeling and increased the dosage to everyday. I also broke out the Abreva tube and used it once or twice. The sore seems to have stopped growing and there is no tingling. I think I nipped it. :dance:


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## GoatsRus (Jan 19, 2003)

I don't know what number I am for recommending L-Lysine, but it works! I used to get cold sores a couple times a year. Haven't had one in quite awhile. At the first tingle, I take 2 L-lysine tablets 3 times a day. The cold sore never comes out. I keep the tablets at home and work...just in case. I don't take the tablets daily as a preventive, but a lot of people I know do.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Thank you all.....I haven't had a cold sore since I started this thread. I have been taking the L-Lysine. Yippiee!!!


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## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

i occasionally have cold sores. I've had good results from slicing a garlic clove in half, and rubbing it on the sores. i rubbed for a few seconds, then repeated 2-3 times more during the day. problem was gone in a day or two.

more troublesome is that the same virus can attack the cornea of your eye, which has happened to me. i went to an opthomologist for that. (didn't have the guts to try rubbing my cornea with garlic! don't think it would feel very good!!)  

--sgl


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## Sherrynboo (Mar 19, 2005)

I very rarely get cold sores anymore since I started taking Dr. Lark's Daily vitamin formula for women. It has a little of everything in it. 

Sherry in GA


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## lmnde (Sep 25, 2006)

Don't laugh - regular bag balm in the green tin - dab on as soon as you feel one coming on - 2-3 times a day - the sore spot gets all healed up within 24 hrs and for me generally gone or no more painful or noticeable within 48 hrs. Tastes yucky but works better than any of the medicated lip sticks I ever tried before...


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## culpeper (Nov 1, 2002)

Mash together equal quantities of Chrysanthemum leaves and grated Daffodil bulbs, place the mixture onto a wet cloth and apply directly to cold sores, leg ulcers, boils, carbuncles, abscesses and wounds. Leave for about 45 minutes before changing.

Dip your moist index finger in powdered common salt and press the sore for 30 seconds using this index finger. 

Make a tea by adding 2-3 Sage leaves to a cup of boiling water; steep; add one teaspoon of powdered Ginger. Drink several cups a day until the sores are cleared up.

Steep an ordinary Tea bag (preferably Earl Grey) in boiling water for a few minutes; cool; then apply to lesions. Within four or five days the lesions should crust over and disappear.

Apply frequent dabs of eau-de-cologne, Plum juice, Lemon juice or Tea Tree oil.

Eat Garlic or Ginger root, or apply either to unopened sores.

Chew a piece of Pawpaw leaf and apply to the area.

Drink a cup of Dandelion tea each day until the sore disappears. This is also a good treatment for Shingles.

Apply a drop or two of Witch Hazel.

Apply a little of the gel from a cut Aloe Vera leaf several times a day.

Apply a paste of cornflour.

Apply a lip balm made with Lemon Balm, or dab on some Lemon Balm tea.

Apply a drop or two of any of the following essential oils several times a day: Bergamot, Echinacea, Geranium, Hyssop, Lemon Balm, Rose, Myrrh, Myrtle, Orange, Oregano, Peppermint, Rosemary, Tea Tree, Thyme.

Rub an ice cube over the cold sore as soon as you feel it coming on. Repeat several times a day.

Dab on a few drops of St Johnâs Wort essential oil. Use only if the sore is drying out.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

I use to have cold sores any time I experienced any type of stress. My job required me to travel and the travel involved getting a yellow fever shot. For some unexplainable reason, but backed by a Doctor's awareness that in some cases an immunity arises as a result of the shot, I have never had another cold sore.


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## roughingit (Apr 6, 2005)

*whimper* Ew, I've got herpes too! I've never had cold sores before this is yucky! I tried aloe last night when I just had two of them next to each other, but woke up with a colony of them. Ewwwww! (You'll have to excuse me, I've been dog sick and am just not handling additional yuckies very well). I tried holding a cotton pad with ACV as suggested for as long as I could stand but e-ow did that burn! Is it supposed to do that?! 

I keep reading about l-lysine on here, any price estimates? Does it come in anything other than pills (can't swallow them)


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## mutthouse (Mar 15, 2006)

I find that I get dramatically fewer cold sores if I take Vitamin C. My immune system is suppressed, and I used to get them allllll the time--drove me nuts! I started taking 500 mg. of Vit. C a day, and they almost completely disappeared. I only get them now when I am ill or stressed, and not many.

Lin


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