Cold Sore Home Remedy: My Tried and Proven Procedure

Cold Sores and the Herpes Simplex Virus

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, usually the type 2 strain also known as HSV-1, although you should note that they can also be caused by the type 2 strain although this is rare. Once you're infected you can never get rid of the virus, there is no actual "cure", although there are a couple of vaccines in the works that may become available in the future that may prevent people from becoming infected in the first place.

Thank Your Aunt for Your Cold Sores

The most likely way in which you became infected was by being kissed by a close relative as a child, who had an active outbreak (cold sore) at the time and didn't know any better. The second most common method of transmission is being kissed by a partner or spouse who's infected.

How To Keep From Spreading Oral Herpes to Others

When one partner has the herpes virus and the other does not, the use of prescription anti-viral medications like acyclovir and valacyclovir by the infected individual can reduce the odds of infecting their partner by up to 50%. It is thought that asymptomatic (without symptoms) viral shedding occurs on 10.8% of days per year in patients not undergoing antiviral treatment, versus just 2.9% of days while on anti-viral therapy (source: The National Institute of Health, see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16238897 ).

Dormant vs. Active Stages

Oral herpes cycles through periods of dormant and active periods or stages, an active stage being when you've got a visible sore and you're contagious which usually lasts about 2-21 days with a week being average for most people. The dormant stage is when the virus recedes into the nerve cells around near the initial site of infection, usually the face around the lips.

My Cold Sore Home Remedy

1. Keep the affected area clean and dry by washing it once every two hours with a damp washcloth and soap, being sure to use a new one each time and put the old one in the laundry.

2. Melt an ice cube on it for about 10 minutes at a time once every 2 hours or so, this helps with the pain, irritation, and itching by numbing it plus it slows down the virus' metabolism and makes it harder for the virus to continue replicating.

3. Start taking lysine at 1000mg 3 times per day along with Vitamin C and B-12. Lysine (aka "l-lysine") has been shown to inhibit the herpes virus while it's active and to prevent it from becoming active when it's in its dormant stage. Vitamin C also helps boost your immune system which is obviously helpful, and B-12 has been proven to reduce the duration of cold sore outbreaks in several studies.

4. Apply witch hazel to the cold sore using a q-tip once every two hours as well, benzyl alcohol may work better but it's also harder to find. Some people also say that isopropyl rubbing alcohol works as well.

5. You might want to put some carmex or other chapstick type of lipbalm on it that will keep the liquid from oozing out and making you more contagious to others.

To learn a lot more about cold sore home remedy see my friends site that I just linked to where she posts data about various remedies and treatments that she and her friends have tried, and what they've found works best.