Many natural remedies are readily available for cold sores. There have been many cases where they have been extremely effective in not only treating the symptoms but also the length and severity of the cold sore outbreak. However, one very important caveat – before starting to use one of these natural remedies it is absolutely vital that you discuss this first with your doctor. If you are currently taking prescriptive medicine, there may be a conflict which could exacerbate the problem. Please check with your doctor first!
Now having said that, do not be surprised if he or she is 100% behind your decision to try a natural alternative – indeed many doctors will advise their patients to try them as a first course of action before that has even occurred to the unfortunate sufferer themselves. With the massive expansion of the internet over the last few years, there is a huge amount of information exchange going on that just wasn’t there before.
In fact data studies have been made which conclude that natural remedies can cut the time period of suffering cold sores by an amazing 79%. Not only that, they can also avert the likelihood of further outbreaks in the future. The natural remedies keep the virus indefinitely inactive rather than killing it off outright. So, having established that there is no shortage of successful home remedies that will rapidly assist you in curing your cold sore outbreak, let’s list just 10 of them.
1) Tea Bags applied directly to the sore
2) Reishi mushrooms in supplement or powder form
3) Resveratrol cream (a natural compound from red grapes)
4) Astragalus – a popular herbal tonic originating from Chinese medicine
5) Lemon Balm cream
6) Wakame - a type of seaweed popular in Japan
7) Echinacea – or purple coneflower common to North America
8) Rhubarb and Sage cream
9) Bee Propolis – as the name suggests it is collected by bees
10) Lysine in supplement form (an essential amino acid)
You should be able to find most of the above from any good health food store. The above list is by no means conclusive, and results will vary from person to person. Some will work better than others, some may have no effect at all. However, various studies have shown significant success with them, hence their inclusion here.
Also potential new herbal remedies are being constantly tested so it is always worthwhile to keep up with the latest developments.
