Cold sores

What you need to know

Complementary medicine offers several alternative treatments for these embarrassing skin eruptions.

The most useful Supplements:

L-Lysine	1gm to 5gm per day when acute - 500mg to 1,000mg per day as a preventative
Multivitamin / mineral	A high potency formulation once per day
Vitamin C with Bioflavanoids	1gm to 10gm per day when acute - 1gm as a preventative
Vitamin E	500iu to 1,000iu internally - apply twice per day to reduce pain and scarring

Other supplements might bring relief include:

B-vitamin complex (if caused by stress), Brewers yeast, Propolis, Zinc tablets and topical Zinc

The most useful Herbs:

Echinacea	500mg 3 times per day
Goldenseal	500mg 3 times per day
Lemon Balm	tea

Topical Herbal Preparations include:

Aloe vera	Gel or sap from a fresh leaf
Lemon Balm	Cream or stick
St Johns Wort	Cream or tincture
Witch hazel	Cream

Homoeopathy

The homoeopathic remedy Natrum muriaticum could also be effective at preventing an outbreak if taken early enough. A Homoeopath can advise on other remedies to use if you already have a cold sore.

Common remedies include:

• Apis mellifica
• Graphites
• Rhus toxicodendron

Aromatherapy

These oils can be dabbed directly onto the sore:

• Clove oil
• Lavender oil
• Oil of cade (an extract of Juniper)
• Tea Tree oil

Dietary changes that may be beneficial:

Cold sore attacks are often caused by stress, so it’s important to get enough vitamin B, ‘the nerve vitamin’, in your diet. The richest sources are that are useful in this condition are: meat, Poultry, wheatgerm, Brewers yeast, leafy green vegetables and wholegrain cereal and bread.

Herpes simplex (the virus that causes cold sores) is very reliant on the amino acid, L-Arginine for its development, whereas, the amino acid L-Lysine inhibits its growth. It may also be useful to eat more foods that have a high Lysine content such as low fat bio-yoghurt, Poultry, Fish and Brewers yeast or take a L-Lysine supplement. Also supplements containing L-Arginine should be avoided.

As this is a viral infection, the immune system should be kept in tip top condition so sugar and refined carbohydrate foods should be kept to a minimum.

Traditional remedies:

A good remedy is to either, use a peeled and cut clove of Garlic or the juice from a leek and apply directly to the cold sore.

If stress is the suspected cause then see the section on Anxiety for more information.

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