I have an herbalist friend who has dealt with cold sores for some time and has developed some tried and true cold sore home remedies that will not only relieve the pain, but also help heal the underlying cause โ the herpes virus.
Cold sores can develop due to a lowered immune system due to stress or sickness. Luckily, they begin with a sort of tingling sensation on or around the lips.
If cold sores are treated aggressively at this stage, it is possible to keep them from erupting. Once the sore has developed, these herbal cold sore remedies can ease the pain as well as shorten the duration of the outbreak due to their anti-viral action.
Lemon balm is one of my favorite cold sore home remedies for dealing with the herpes virus. This gentle, tonic herb has strong anti-viral properties.
Herbalist Heather Nic an Fhleisdeir has a great cold sore home remedy. She has great success removing the herpes virus from her body by drinking infusions of lemon balm and St. John’s wort on a daily basis.
In my research on lemon balm, I found several similar reports.
To create a cold sore home remedy using lemon balm, you will need:
- 2 lemon balm tea bags or a 2 teaspoons of dried lemon balm
- 1 cup of boiling water
- Simply steep the lemon balm in the boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain.
- Saturate a cotton ball in the tea and dab onto the cold sore at least 4 times a day.
You can also drink a few cups of lemon balm tea each day to help eliminate the virus from your body.
St. John’s wort also has strong anti-viral properties and so is a great herb to use when making a cold sore remedy. My friend Rosalee says that she applies St. John’s wort oil topically and takes the tincture internally as soon as she feels that tingling sensation that indicates a cold sore might be forming.
Please do check that it is safe to use St. John’s wort tincture in conjunction with any prescription medications you are taking before using it internally.
Tulsi (or holy basil) can also be used as a home remedy for cold sores. Drinking warm tulsi tea or using a tincture made from the fresh plant can help heal cold sores.
Tulsi also has adaptogenic properties, so drinking tulsi tea regularly over time can help your body deal with stress better, perhaps alleviating your need to treat cold sores all together.
One last suggestion for you. You might consider making a cold sore healing lip balm.
Rosalee makes one using St. John’s wort, lemon balm, and hyssop infused oils, tea tree essential oil, and a coconut oil and beeswax base.
These cold sore home remedies are wonderful because they not only quickly relieve the pain and discomfort associated with the sores, they work to resolve the root cause of the sores with their anti-viral action.
Are you interested in learning to make your own home remedies? I give you ALL the supplies you need! Click here to read about my Herbal Remedyย Kit.
