Cold Sores
Resources
Various sources of info from the web
Member Remedies
Members tell their stories...
Shelly
Canada
This is not really a "home" remedy but boy oh boy it works. I had the mother of all cold sores. Half of my bottom lip was really swollen with a big ugly scab.I went to a homeopathic drug store and the pharmacist gave me Apis Mellifica (crushed bee) and Rhus Toxicodendron (poison ivy).They were little pellets you dissolve under your tongue.With in two hours the swelling was almost gone and the next day it was all gone. What a miracle!!
Dana Philbrick
USA
You should be able to find Alum at any grocery store. It will be in the spice section. It is used for pickling. Simply put the Alum on the canker sore, and it will be gone within a day or two. It tastes horrible, but it is worth it.
Anastasia
USA
Apply a thin layer of Pepto Bismol with a q-tip, three times a day. I also dry it out at night and in the morning with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. It works for me, the trick is to keep it as dry as possible, so stay away from applying lip sticks, lip gloss, chap stick, Vaseline, etc. Also if you have used any of these while you had your cold sore, throw them away, they are contaminated. Good Luck
Tisha
Canada
Take a tea bag (just regular tea will do) and soak it in hot water (not too hot, so you don't burn your skin) leave in on for no longer than 5 min at a time, and make sure you wash the area before and after to prevent the tea from staining. Try this out! It may sound silly, but when I have a nasty sore on my lip, i know i am willing to try just about everything! This usually works for me. Good Luck!
Stacy
USA
I bought some lysine cream, and that heals it up really fast, without all the dryness and scarring. Another thing, is that you can take the lysine vitamin on a regular basis, so that you wont get it at all. If it is too late and you alreayd have the ugly cold sore, then calamine lotion on it at night, driess it out really fast for the next day!
Rex
USA
Chili pepper & water
A strike anywhere match
Whole milk
instructions
Everytime the weather changes I get cold sores. The doctors don't know why, but any remedy I use on them, it only works once. Anyway, I have several remedies that might interest you. #1 is to make a paste of Chili powder and water. Put the paste on the sore. (This will probably hurt for a little while, but it will dry it out fast.) #2 is to use a strike anywhere match and get the head wet with water. Rub the head on the coldsore. #3 Soak the cold sore in room temperature whole milk for 15 minutes.
Cheryl Rathy
Canada
Apply some alum salt to sore in your mouth and try and leave it on as long as possible, (do not swallow) when left on for a minute or so, spit out and rinse mouth with water. May have to repeat the procedure once or twice, but it works like a charm for my son, who suffers from them.
By R
Canada
I really hate cold sores so my mom told me to mix some warm water and salt together. Then apply it on the area with a q-tip It works like a charm
Centennial Education Center
Instructor: Brenda Donahue
By Joan Salyer
Ingredients
Aloe
Scotch Tape or Band Aid
Get a bundle of Aloe. Then peel one Aloe. Next you peel off the skin of the Aloe, and put the moist area of the Aloe on the sore and tape it with scotch tape or a band-aid.
USA
ingredients = L-Lysine
Take the mineral supplement L-Lysine. I have had cold sores all my life but since I've been taking L-Lysine I haven't had one--except for the time I quit taking it and a cold sore appeared and it was a doozey. L-Lysine may not be good for everyone to take--check with your doctor to be sure. A quick call to your doctor couldn't hurt.
By Greg Bellefeuille
Use ice and vitamin E. Ice freezes the virus and stops it in it's tracks. Origin unknown. Betty G, USA
Miscellaenous
Here's one that worked three times for me: When you first start to feel the tingling of the cold sore developing on your lip, do this: cut a piece of garlic or onion and hold it on you lip for 5 minutes. This really worked. The tingling stopped, the blister stopped forming. Never became a cold sore.
"BeautifulFlower"
Hello I am queen of trying anything on my cold sores, I have gotten them since grade school, and still suffer. These remedies are only effective in the beginning stages. The first remedy that reduces a cold sores size is taking an aspirin damp and making a paste of it or placing it to the lip with tape ( may work later in the growth). The second is bleach with water this has only worked in it's earliest stages. USA
Melissa T.
USA
This has worked several times on me- when I was able to start as soon as I felt the tingle (don't ya hate that feeling, cause you know exactly whats coming!!!)Anyways, as soon as I feel it I dampen a cotton ball or something similar in regular rubbing alcohol and then on to the sore. Astringent has worked also. Being the fanatic that I am about them, I apply it every half hour or so till I know its not coming through. Does it dry out my lips? Yes, but using some chapstick for the next day or two is nothing compared the embarrassment of watching someone stare at your infected lip as you talk to them for the next week!!!!! Good luck!!!!
Jim
VA USA
Slowly dissolve a zinc lozenge(such as Cold-Eze, etc) in the mouth 3 or 4 times daily. The ulcers (also called apthous ulcers) will heal much faster ie usually in 3 to 5 days, rather than the usual 7-10 (or more). The zinc also has a soothing effect.
Menstral cramps
Rocio Zegarra
Peru
Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP), Arlington, Virginia, USA
InstructorÊ Mary Kay Alegre
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of oregano
- 1 liter of boiled water
My best way to relieve the stomach pain caused by menstruation is with oregano. First at all, bring water to a boil with three tablespoons of oregano. Leave in the pot and continue to boil for five minutes. After that strain and drink as tea. You will feel better. When I have menstrual cramps I usually drink it and then I feel very well the whole day.
Breeonna
United States
First make sure you aren't cold because I've figured out that can make them worse. It might not make them go away completely but it sure helps if you elevate your legs on something or curl your legs up so your knees are as close to your chest as possible.
Centennial Education Center
Instructor: Brenda Donahue
By Michelle Ortiz
Mexico
ingredients = Oregano and Water
Put some water in a container. Boil the water. After boiling the water put some oregano in the water and leave it for 5 minutes. Next, drink the tea without sugar or with a little spoon of sugar.The go to bed and rest for a while.
Note: You can drink this tea when you feel the pain or before you start to hurt.