How To Heal A Coldsore

This post is about how to heal a cold sore as opposed to my last post which was about getting rid of a cold sore fast with the focus being on the early stages of cold sores (other wise know as a fever blisters) when they are just starting out.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m a firm believer in natural methods of treatment whenever possible. When it comes to the best cold sore treatment; I’m sure it must be a natural treatment.

This time I will assume that your cold sore has already blistered and in fact, may have popped open. Although each treatment won’t work for everyone, here’s how to heal a cold sore.

Keep It Covered

.The sore can be covered by something as simple as petroleum jelly. Some say Carmex works well. Still others recommend Neosporin so that there is little chance for a secondary bacterial infection.

Some even say that toothpaste works the best. No, I’m not kidding!

Keeping the sore covered is very important at this stage because when the sore breaks, this when the virus can spread.

Aloe is also a very popular way to keep the sore covered. Break an Aloe leaf directly over a cold sore and make sure the gel from the leaf covers the sore completely.

Honey can also be a good substance for covering cold sores because has antiviral properties.

Keep It Clean

Wash the area frequently with soap and water. You could also try hydrogen peroxide. This will disinfect the area while cleaning it. Dry with something disposable like a paper towel because a washrag could cause the virus to spread. You want to dry it right away because keep water and saliva create an environment that is conducive to the virus growing.

Once the sore breaks, be careful not to touch it and be sure to throw away anything like a paper towel or cotton swab that does touch it. The last thing you want to do is spread the virus around and start all over again.

Along these lines, get a new toothbrush after your cold sore episode has ended. You don’t want to give the virus back to yourself.

Lysine vs. Arginine

Lysine for cold sores is a very popular treatment. Lysine is an amino acid that inhibits the growth of viruses. Arginine is also an amino acid that promotes the growth of viruses. To heal a cold sore properly the level of Lysine in the body should be increased while the level of arginine should be decreased.

Lysine supplements are available. You should take up to 1,000mg three times a day during an outbreak. Also you should avoid foods that are high in arginine like chocolate, almonds and peanuts and eat food that are high in Lysine like fish, meat, milk, eggs and cheese.



Lysine lip balm is also available for topical use with some good results reported in a study at the Southern California University. These good results are somewhat puzzling since the Lysine molecule is too big to enter skin cells easily and most other people say that Lysine only works when taken internally.

Once they heal their cold sore, some people take 500 mg daily of Lysine as a preventative.

Zinc

I’m sure that everyone reading this has heard of Zinc. This can be used internally or externally, but most people have the best luck using it internally.

Lemon Balm

This is a topical cream that proved in a study conducted in Germany that patients who used this, saw their cold sores heal in half the time. Lemon balm has become a very popular way to treat a cold sore

Calcium

Most people have a cold sore flare up because of stress. When you are stressed out, you’re adrenal glands start pumping out chemicals that turn the fluids in your body from alkaline to acid in just a matter of minutes. This makes an ideal environment for the viruses to thrive. Calcium is a buffer chemical. In other words, calcium, which is alkaline, can neutralize more than its weight of an acidic substance.

Some green vegetables are also alkaline. Try to avoid acidic foods like tomatoes or citrus fruits and you’ll be able to heal a cold sore much faster.

The bottom line is that calcium and alkaline foods can not only help to heal a cold sore, but can also help to prevent future outbreaks.

Caution: Calcium and alkaline foods may boost your immune system. Talk to your doctor first because you may be taking medications that depend on a weak immune system.

Licorice

This is for real. Licorice has a chemical in it called glycyrrhizic acid that will stop the cold sore virus so that you can start to heal. The only problem with this is that I’m talking about real licorice. Not the artificial kind that you find in most candies. Check the list of ingredients of any product. You’re looking for the words, “licorice mass”. If they’re there, you can eat it.

You could also sprinkle licorice powder directly on the sore.

Heat

It’s common knowledge that you should use ice when you feel a cold sore outbreak coming on, but what a lot of people don’t know is that to heal a cold sore after it has broken open, you should use heat. Hear draws more blood up to the skin cells. Viruses don’t like the blood and the heat so they will retire back to the nerves. The increased blood flow also helps the skill cells to rejuvenate.

Isopropyl Alcohol

This is a may be a home remedy for cold sores, but it is a very hazardous one so it should only be done under a doctor’s supervision. The alcohol has very strong fumes so a fan should be set up close to the face. Some kind of goggles should also be worn to keep the fumes out of your eyes.

The alcohol should be applied directly to the sore. This really hurts at first, but some people say that this really helps to heal their cold sore.

Conclusion

If you want to know how to heal a cold sore, there are quite a few techniques out there.

As I said before, I believe that natural treatments are the best. I’m fairly certain that a home remedy for cold sores will work best for you.

If you agree with me that natural is best, then be sure to check out this information about the book Cold Sore Freedom In 3 Days by Grace Melgarjo.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor. Be sure to discuss it first with a licensed medical practioner before beginning any form of treatment.

How To Get Rid Of A Cold Sore Fast

Of course you want to know how get rid of a how to get rid of a cold sore fast fast. Who wants to that ugly blister on their face? You’d have to be crazy not to want to get rid of it as fast as possible. This article will talk about the different ways to treat cold sores so they disappear as fast as possible: both with pharmaceuticals and home style natural remedies and the ways to prevent future outbreaks from occurring.

I am just reporting what I have learned. What I have written here is not meant to be medical advice. Before beginning any regimen of treatment it is advisable to consult a licensed medical practicianer.

I would like preface my remarks by saying that in every aspect of both Western medicine and Alternative medicine, there are no treatments that work for 100% of the patients 100% of the time. You will have to pick the right treatment for you. It may be one of the treatments below. It may be a combination of these treatments or it may end up being something your grandmother told you.

I think that we’ve all heard the ads on TV for the latest, greatest drug. As a side note, (I don’t think you’re supposed to notice) the ads usually talk about some horrible side effects (some even mention death as a side effect) that can happen to some people. This from a drug that’s supposed to help you! For this reason I will focus heavily on the natural treatments for cold sores.

Cause

To better understand the treatments, it’s important to understand the cause.

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. Usually it’s the type 1, although sometimes it can be the type 2. Anyway, the virus lives in the roots of the nerves that are close to the skin.

They lay there dormant until an event such as stress, a cold or even the sun triggers the virus to become active.

Why stress? What happens during stress?

During stress, the body’s fluids change from alkaline to acidic in a very short time. Most diseases occur when the body is in an acidic state. This may be due to the fact that the immune system is weakened by an acidic body.

The immune system is also weakened by a cold. That’s one reason that we really have to take care of ourselves during a cold.

Once the immune system is weakened, the virus is free to become active in the cells near the skin (usually close to the mouth). The virus cells grow and replicate until they rupture the cell and the virus then invades other nearby cells. This rupturing is why cold sores are so painful.


Doctor prescribed medications:

An antiviral drug that may be prescribed is acyclovir

Other drugs that may be prescribed are Zovitrax and Valtrax.


Because of potential side effects from any prescription medication I wouldn’t recommend them or any other doctor prescribed drug unless the natural treatments failed.



Over-the-Counter medications:

One of the most popular medications right now is Abreva. Some people swear by this medication and some say it doesn’t do much good at all. Others in use are Zilactin and Ziladent.


Many over the counter medications contain benzocaine; a painkiller. The pain of the cold sore is reduced so the patient thinks that the medicine is working, but really it isn’t doing anything to cure the cold sore.

Temporary pain relief can also be had from Oragel orAmbesol.

Other over the counter pain medications that will give temporary pain relief are ibuprofen, acetaminophen or even aspirin.

Natural Treatments

Ice

Easily, the most common of the natural treatments is ice. Ice should be used on the spot where you first feel the tingling and/or itching of a cold sore that is coming on. The cold of the ice will actually cause the virus to return to a dormant state in the nerve cells. Instead of using ice; frozen tea bags would be even better since the tannic acid in tea has anti-viral properties. Ice should not be used after a blister has broken because this will cause healing time to be longer.


Heat

Once the cold sore breaks open; you should no longer use ice, but use heat instead. To do this place a heated tea bag against the open sore. The heat will cause the body to send more oxygen to the scene which helps the body build new cells, plus the tea has the tannic acid that will help fight the virus.


Keep It Covered

This isn’t so much a treatment, but it is something that you must do to keep the virus from spreading and therefore prolonging your episode. You can cover the sore with petroleum jelly, Carmex, or any other lip balm.

Lysine

This can be purchased OTC because it is considered a supplement. Take 3,000 to 5,000 mg per day during an outbreak and also take it if you know that you will soon experience an event that would normally trigger a cold sore.

Tea Tree Oil

Make a drink out of water (one cup) tea tree oil (2 drops), violet, herbal sage, ginger powder and 2 sage leaves. Drink this tea 2-3 times per day and your sore should be gone in about 3 days.

Use extreme caution however, some people say that tea tree oil is toxic if taken internally, but they recommend that it be used externally on the sore twice a day.

Calcium

It’s important to take a calcium supplement while you are having an outbreak because your body is most likely acidic. Calcium will help get you back to an alkaline state where the virus will have great difficulty thriving.

Garlic

Like calcium, garlic is very alkaline and therefore good for fighting just about any problem. Garlic should be crushed and applied directly to the sore.

Zinc

Zinc is used to fight the common cold virus, but it also works well in fighting the virus that causes cold sores. An effective way to fight cold sores is to use Zicam nasal spray because you can not only spray it on the sore, but when you also take it internally; it has proven to be quite effective.

Use as many of these remedies as you can until you find out what works best for you.

Left untreated, a cold sore will last anywhere from 10-14 days. If you try these treatments, you should be able to get it down to 3 days.

There are many other treatments that are used by small numbers of people. These are just some of the more popular.

Cold sores are a very serious business; to get some more information read the book called, “Cold Sore Freedom In 3 Days” by Grace Melgarejo

Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link so I will be compensated if you buy the book.

Additional disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am just reporting what I have found out. Please consult a licensed medical practitioner before beginning any course of treatment.