If you’ve ever had a cold sore, then you know how painful and frustrating they can be. Caused by the Herpes Simplex Virus Type One, cold sores are blisters that generally appear on your lip, though they can also show up on your fingers, your chin or your nose.

They are painful, unsightly, and contagious, and once you’ve had a cold sore outbreak you are always vulnerable to a recurrence. The good news is that, contrary to common belief, cold sores CAN be prevented and they CAN be cured, and there are several natural cold sore treatments and home remedies for cold sores that can cut down on the pain and the duration of an outbreak.

Home Remedies For Cold Sores On Lips

Cold sores have a very specific appearance. People who have regularly recurring cold sores on lips, or fever blisters as they are sometimes called, can generally tell when one is coming because they feel a tingling or extra sensitivity immediately before one appears.

Many people say that they are able to head off the actual occurrence by cutting a slice of lemon and placing it on the spot where it is tingling. They say that the earlier they get the lemon onto the spot and the longer they keep it on, the better the chances that the cold sore will not appear. Another home remedy for cold sores when you feel one coming is to drink a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Other people combine the apple cider vinegar with lemon juice and use that as a preventive measure.

Home Remedies That Work Fast

Cold sores are painful and contagious, and if one has popped up there’s a good chance that more will follow. One of the best home remedies to stop cold sores from spreading and speed their departure is the use of a variety of herbs. Something as simple as chewing on a licorice whip, as long as it is made from real licorice rather than being flavored with anise, can have an immediate impact, though licorice root tea
would probably work better and faster.

Many people believe that a warm, wet tea bag can help get rid of fever blisters, and a licorice tea bag would be best. Other herbs that have been said to help include St. Johns Wort and Lemon Balm, which are both said to kill the virus.

Home Remedies For Cold Sores In Your Mouth

When a sore shows up in your mouth or on your tongue, you may be tempted to find a home remedy for cold sores, but it is more likely that what you have is a canker sore. Fever blisters and cold sores arise from a virus that lives on the nerve cells of your skin and rarely are found inside the mouth. The small round white sores that you find on your tongue or on the walls of your mouth are called canker sores and
they’re caused by bacteria. The best home remedies for the pain of a canker sore include ice packs, aloe, cayenne pepper, and a styptic pencil.

Home Remedies To Avoid

When you have a cold sore, there are a couple of home remedies that you should avoid. You may be tempted to try to mask it or camouflage it with makeup; the chemicals in makeup can make your cold sores much worse. Put some petroleum jelly on it to keep it from spreading, but don’t cover it with any kind of tint. The other thing you shouldn’t do is try to squeeze it or break it open. Doing this spreads the virus
to your fingers and to the area around the original outbreak.