|  | Alternative Medicine | Alternative Remedies

Natural Cold Sore Treatments

Cold sores are a direct cause of the herpes simplex virus and are highly contagious. They are small, painful, pus-filled blisters that appear on the lips, gums and the roof of the mouth. You may get some pain or tingling a few days before the cold sores appear. There is no cure for the herpes virus that causes cold sores, but you can use natural ways to treat them.

  1. Lysine

    • Lysine is used to make protein we need to produce infection-fighting antibodies. We get lysine through natural supplements and foods we eat because it is an amino acid. Lysine is good at decreasing the effects of the herpes virus. We get lysine through foods we eat such as red meat, milk, eggs, cheese, wheat germ, fish and brewers' yeast. Lysine competes with another amino acid called arginine. The less arginine we have, the more lysine we have in our bodies. Lysine supplements taken three times a day may help shorten the duration of cold sores.

    Lemon Balm

    • Lemon balm is also known as Melissa officinalis. It has antiviral properties and is a good natural way to treat cold sores. You can use lemon balm in a cream form to reduce the recurrence of cold sores.

    Peppermint Oil

    • Peppermint essential oils have been found to penetrate the skin and have a direct effect against the herpes virus. Peppermint oil has not been scientifically proven to work on everyone to treat cold sores naturally. Until it has been, it should not be used.

    Self Heal

    • Self heal is an herb commonly grown in China and Europe. It is also known as Prunella vulgaris and is a perennial plant. The extracts of self heal have been known to treat herpes simplex I and herpes simplex II viruses.

    Resveratrol

    • Resveratrol is a compound found in red grapes and has been found to be effective against the herpes simplex virus. You can use this natural treatment as a cream to treat cold sores. It has also been found to be effective on animals with the herpes virus. It has been found to be just as effective as Zovirax, a topical cold sore ointment.

    Propolis

    • Propolis is a natural, brownish, resinous substance. Bees collect it from poplar to keep their hives clean. Propolis is very effective against cold sores. It has been found to prevent the virus from entering the body cells and to block the reproduction and spread of herpes.

Alternative Remedies - Related Articles