Cold Sores - your best remedies please.

[TBJP]

Coming down with one right now - I've stuck a patch on, but am dreading it developing, so any tips to nip it in the bud please?

And anything you do/take in general, to not get them in the first place?

(I am not especially stressed, though do have a five-month old baby, so lack of sleep etc, but generally ok).

Why haven't they found a cure yet? Aahrggh!

[eyeofhorus]

cold sores mean you have the herpes virus lying dormant in you. things with an acyclovir content, eg medicines, creams will speed up thier recovery, but a course of rhus tox from a homeopath will allow you to get rid of the herpes virus. otherwise you could go down with shingles at a later stage........ unfortunately cold sores keep rearing their head when we are run down, those patches are ok, but a bit of a faff....

[TBJP]

Really??? I can GET RID of the herpes virus for good with rhus tox? And that will get rid of them for good? How do I find a reputable homeopath, or can I get this stuff from a health food store/over the counter?

[TBJP]

P.S. I am breast-feeding DS. Will this affect what remedy I can take?

[HooverTheHamaBeads]

You can not get rid of the virus, it will be with you for the rest of your life.

I take a good quality multivitamin and mineral with probiotic (the probiotic is important) and 1000mg of slow release vitamin C lus zinc (redoxon one). Both of these combined seem to keep me as healthy as I can be and I have had a huge reduction in outbreaks.

Regular exercise boosts your immune system by 40% so if you can factor that in somehow that might help.

When I feel one coming on I have a triple pronged approach (!) I apply ice every two hours for two minutes at a time for the first 48 hours, then apply Fenistil (not Zovirax) every two hours. At night I apply the Fenistil with a coating of Lycine Plus over the top. Lycine Plus is the top selling natural herpes product in the US and is brilliant stuff, and it is available in the UK (ointment and stick). I also take 3000mg vit C and Llycene for the first three days of the coldsore starting.

[HooverTheHamaBeads]

Shingles virus is part of the 'herpes family' of viruses as is reactivated chicken pox.

But it has nothing to do with coldsores/genital herpes which are caused by herpes simplex 1 and 2.

[CoteDAzur]

You can't get rid of the virus.

AND

All homeopathic "remedies" are sugar pills with no active substance in them. If you are lucky, you might have one molecule per bottle. They. Don't. Work.

[coffeeinbed]

Very pricy but it will last forever - the Virulite gadget.
It works.

[eyeofhorus]

wish you luck TBJP in your quest to banish the cold sore, but I fear I must leave this thread, so fed up with anti-homeopathic , ill-informed comments on MN. If you want to explore the rhus tox idea with a homeopath, it will work, only you will know if it doesn't............

[TBJP]

Did think the homeopathic thing is a bit too good to be true.
Why do some people believe it works though?

What I wouldn't try though to be rid of coldsores for life.

Thanks for the detailed reply, Hoover. I do have a good diet, and used to exercise a lot - a bit hard right now with the new baby, but I am not inactive. Will try and find the supplements you mention. Thank you.

coffee, thank you - found the Virulite thing on Amazon, has good reviews on top of your recommendation, so I've ordered it. £35, not bad at all, considering this packet of patches costs about £8 a packet, and I usually need two packets per outbreak. :(

Feeling rather sorry for myself tonight.

[TBJP]

eyeofhorus, but HOW does it work? I am not close-minded, I really think I'll try anything if it can help. I do appreciate your input.

[MrsKaravan]

I second the Virulite. It uses infra red light. It really works, and if you start using it too late (ie if you wake up with one already starting) it significantly reduces how big it gets and how long it lasts, there's no mess it's really easy to use. I would have paid hundreds of quid for it as a teenager.

Mine cost £20 I think they're usually 30. I tell everyone about them. I wish I'd had one years ago.

[TBJP]

eye, if you are still there - are you saying this rhus tox thing can get rid of cold sores completely, and I might not ever get another one?

[TBJP]

MrsK, can't wait to get it! Though obviously too late for this bout. I haven't had loads of them in my life, and they only started five years ago, but usually wake up and it's started, so too late to prevent completely, but I stuck the patch on as soon as I woke up this morning, and it's not gone as big yet, so fingers crossed. SO depressing - DS (five months) is at the age where is loves grabbing my face, kissing my face, and I have just had to hold him off today, even with the patch, I am just paranoid about him catching it, and I wouldn't wish coldsores on anyone.

[TBJP]

is = he!

[HooverTheHamaBeads]

here is the lysine creme

It is excellent stuff as a back-up to antiviral ointment and also very good once the sore has started to scab as it keeps it from cracking/splitting and bleeding again. It has a lovely base a bit like vaseline and smells lovely too.

[TBJP]

Great - thank you very much again, Hoover. Have added it to my Amazon basket.
I wonder about using it all the time, as in daily, to stave off coldsores. Or will that make it eventually ineffective?

Hopefully that zapper thing will mean no more sores for me. Have you tried it?

[Cymar]

Have you tried garlic. I had an outbreak a few years back and rubbed them with slices of garlic. It worked a treat and it's cheap.

[Cymar]

Meant to say that I haven't had a cold sore since.

[HooverTheHamaBeads]

I have not tried the zapper but am thinking of getting one.

I use the coldstick of the same brand as a lip gloss so I do use it most days actually.

[TBJP]

Yes, tried garlic! And tea bags, and ice! Hard to tell how much effect things have sometimes. I just wish there was something that could zap them away completely, get the herpes thing out of my system.

[TBJP]

Thanks, Hoover. Have added that to my basket too.

[ILoveGregoryHouse]

The light thingy is great. Thanks for the lysine ointment tip. Off to Amazon to get some so when I get another cold sore will use it in combination with my light zapper. Compeed patches also goid.

[LoveBeingKnockedUp]

I have these two and now follow a two pronged approach. I use the light zapper, then I use the patches. I use the patches as I never, ever want to pass this onto my dd. It would seriously effect me if she caught them.

I believe there are now some night patches that have extra stuff in them hut haven't tried them.

[TBJP]

Yes, Gregory, it's the Compeed patches I am on, and I do think they are pretty good. I've just bought:

SuperLysine and Lipclear Coldstick with SPF

Solgar L-Lysine 1000mg 250 Tablets

SuperLysine+ Cream 7g

Fenistil

and
Virulite Zapper

Pricey, but hopefully worth it.

[LoveBeingKnockedUp]

Eyeof I have looked and can find nothing on the Internet to back up your claims, in fact all the offical type sites state quite clearly once you have it you can't get rid of it.