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Natural Home Remedies for Fever Blisters (Cold Sores)
Natural home remedies for fever blisters are effective in healing unsightly and painful cold sores. Herbs and aromatherapy are
simple and safe to use to heal cold sores.
Fever blisters or cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. You can get the virus through direct contact from someone who has it in their system.
Once gaining entry to your body through your mouth, the virus finds a host cell (e.g. a nerve cell) and then multiply and remain in your body.
From time to time, however, when conditions are right, the virus moves to the skin surface and causes an infection, which erupts as small painful blisters usually on
the outside of your lips, or the mouth area.
What Triggers an Infection?
As mentioned above, most times the virus just stay in your body system without causing an infection. However, some factors can trigger an infection (i.e. an outbreak of
fever blisters/cold sores), such as:
- Over-exposure to the sun or wind.
- Arginine-rich foods (such as chocolate, cola, peas, grain cereals, peanuts, gelatin, cashews, and beer) can also trigger an outbreak since the herpes
virus thrives on arginine, which is an essential amino acid that aids the virus' metabolism.
- Stress has also been found to trigger recurrences of the herpes simplex virus.
- A poor or weakened immune system as a result of illness such as a cold can also cause cold sores to develop.
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Natural Home Remedies for Fever Blisters - Herbs
Herbs can safely be used both topically and internally to treat fever blisters.
Topically, these herbs make great home remedies for fever blisters:
- Aloe Vera: The herb Aloe vera has great healing power - it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. The juice of this herb soothes and relieves irritation as it heals.
You can get aloe vera gel at any health food stores or drugstores.
- Lemon Balm Extract: Several studies suggest that topical ointments containing lemon balm may help heal cold sores. Simply apply the
ointment to affected areas 3 to 4 times a day.
- Calendula: Another great herb that is effective for fever blisters is Calendula. This herb is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.
In addition, it stimulates the immune system and is an excellent healing herb. You can get an ointment of calendula and apply it to the cold sores 2 or 3 times a day.
Internally, you may want to take some of these herbs to boost your immune system:
- Echinacea: This herb is the best choice to balance the immune system and is effective against all types of infections. You can take a
tincture or capsules of the herb.
- Burdock root: This herb is a blood purifier; it is effective in toxin elimination and is also good for treating different skin conditions.
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Natural Home Remedies for Fever Blisters - Aromatherapy
Quite a few essential oils are effective in treating fever blisters, for example, tea tree, lavender, chamomile, and geranium. Here is a recipe for a synergistic blend
that is excellent for fever blisters.
You need:
- 8 drops of Geranium
- 6 drops of Chamomile
- 5 drops of Lavender
- 8 drops of Tea tree
Mix them together and store in a dark-colored bottle. To use, dip a cotton ball in water, add one drop of the above synergistic blend onto the cotton ball, and apply it
directly to the cold sore once a day.
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Other Home Remedies for Fever Blisters
- Ice: When you first notice that a fever blister is forming (usually you get that tingling feeling), wrap an ice cube in a piece of clean
cloth and put it on the tingling spot. This will decrease inflammation and hopefully can stop a full outbreak.
- Tea Bag: This remedy is also effective when you first notice that a cold sore is forming. Take a tea bag and make some tea. Then take the
used teabag while it is still hot (as hot as you can stand) and apply it to the spot as a compress. Tea contains tannic acid, which is a natural astringent.
- Exercise: Exercise can strengthen your immune system. The stronger your immune system, the better able it is to fight off infections.
- Relax: As mentioned above, stress is one of the triggers of fever blisters, so relax and do not let stress get you down!
Related Topics
Natural Herpes Remedies
Homeopathic Remedies for Shingles
Natural Home Remedies for Shingles
References
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies. (Rodale, 2002).
Worwood, V.A. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. (New World Library, 1991).
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