You probably know this situation all too well. You wake up one morning and there is this ugly bump on your lip. Oh No it’s the dreaded cold sore! What’s even worse is you have a date with that hot guy or girl from the office. I’m sure you’ve had similar scenarios, because I know I have. If you’re like me as soon as I see those pesky cold sores I want to get rid of it as soon as possible. There are some over the counter cold sore remedies, but I’m a big believer in using as many natural products as possible. Here are some great natural cold sore remedies that are both effective and safe.
The first remedy is honey. You heard right, that yellow sweet stuff you have in your kitchen cabinet is very effective in treating cold sores. Honey is known to have a big concentration of sugar in the form of both glucose and fructose. Because of this it makes it hard for a virus to survive. Along with battling the cold sore virus, honey will also speed up the process of healing. Since your body doesn’t have to fight against the germs that can’t survive, it can focus on healing your cold sore.
Honey is one of my favorite natural cold sore remedies because it’s a common household item. No need to drive to the store and buy it. More than likely you have some inside your kitchen that you’ve used for tea or sandwiches.
Our next natural substance you can use to treat your annoying cold sore is tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is a very popular natural oil that is not only anti viral, but also anti fungal and anti bacterial.
Tea tree oil is taken from the leaves of specific trees in Australia. The tribes that used to reside in Eastern Australia used tea tree oil as a treatment for many of their medical problems. It has been used as a remedy for conditions such as acne, lice, burns, dandruff, and also cold sores. Researchers have conducted studies where tea tree oil was applied to people’s cold sores, and the cold sores stopped spreading very quickly.
Our last but not least cold sore remedy is Cat’s Claw. Cat’s Claw is another really incredible natural substance because it is known to be anti viral, an anti oxidant, and an anti inflammatory. Cat’s Claw is safe to consume orally so the best way to use it is to make a tea out of it. Drinking a couple glasses of tea made with Cat’s Claw will do wonders for that pesky cold sore on your lip.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-395-CAT’S%20CLAW.aspx?activeIngredientId=395&activeIngredientName=CAT’S%20CLAW
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15278008 (Study on effectiveness of honey on Cold Sore and Herpes virus)
http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/3/450.full (Study on Tea Tree oil as a topical treatment for herpes/cold sores)