Natural Herpes Remedies

Sure, you may be impressed with prescription medications for cold sores branded with serious-sounding names, but natural cold sore remedies are every bit as effective as the prescription stuff, only much less expensive. Learning about the various properties of the homeopathic remedies will guide you toward those most useful for treating oral herpes. With this kind of knowledge under your belt, you'll be spending many fewer pain-filled days.

Painful Blisters

Cold sores, a kind of oral herpes, are painful, itchy blisters that are most often found on the lips, face, and gums, and within the mouth itself. The sores are contagious and last for about two weeks. Oral herpes can be passed on to others by plain old physical contact.

Antiviral herbs are the most effective agent for healing those painful sores. Lemon balm, for instance, has strong antiviral properties. This herb was the subject of a study that found that as a salve, it can speed up the healing process for cold sores. On average, those participants who used lemon balm recovered five days sooner than those who used ordinary lip balm.

Peppermint Oil

Yet another remedy may be even better as a homeopathic oral herpes treatment. Peppermint oil stays inside the skin cells to combat the herpes virus over a longer period of time. The oil works on some of the most tenacious strains of the virus.

Rhubarb and sage cream is also a powerful agent against cold sores.

A compound known as resveratrol is known to be one of the best cold sore remedies. Resveratrol is derived from red grapes and is sold as a supplement. In addition to healing cold sores, resveratrol combats other pathogens and viruses.

The best way to take resveratrol is to retain it within your mouth for one minute prior to swallowing. Resveratrol is similar to peppermint oil in that it stays within the skin for lengthy periods, attacking the herpes virus that caused those sores in the first place. Resveratrol can also be purchased in ointment form. 

While this list of natural cold sore remedies is comprehensive, it may be a good idea to consult with a dermatologist. It's possible that in addition to needing remedies with anti-viral properties, you'll need an anti-bacterial treatment, as well. The important thing is to treat the sores as soon as possible.

It's true that if you leave the sores alone, they will, with time, resolve on their own. But the sores are uncomfortable, unsightly, and having an open wound in the form of an oral sore leaves you vulnerable to other infections that may not be so easy to heal.