Have you ever suffered from a cold sore? Do you know that there are herbs for cold sore treatment? Do you know that these herbs are effective and available?
Herbs have medical importance and are used to treat several diseases and their symptoms.
What is The Definition Of Cold Sore?
It is a small cluster of painful blisters whose colour is white.
It is inflamed with open sores and lesions around your mouth.
Some doctors called it a " fever blister".
Its source is herpes simplex virus( HSV).
Cold sores make patients feel uncomfortable and itching.
Symptoms Of Cold Sores
-They appear in your lips, outside your mouth in addition to your nose and cheeks.
-Your gum may be swollen and the glands in your neck, fever and your muscles will hurt you.
-Your mouth will burn you and you will possess pain inside it.
-Headache.
-Problems with your stomach.
-Sore throat.
Examples Of Some Herbs For Cold Sore Treatment And Its Uses:
1- Aloe Vera
Aloe vera plays a role as one of the most common herbs for cold sore. Aloe vera gel is anti-inflammatory in addition to its antiviral properties that possess inhibitory action so they reduce swelling and redness and help in the healing process as it contains antioxidants, vitamins, hormones, minerals, enzymes and fatty acids.
You can grow aloe vera in your house or buy it online.
2- Lemon Balm
It is also known as Melissa officinalis.
It is one of the best effective herbs for cold sore as it has antiviral characters that lead to decreasing swelling and redness.
Older researchers approved that lemon balms protect us from future infection.
You can use it as lip balm containing one percent of lemon balm or use lemon as tea.
To make lemon balm on your house, follow these steps:
1- Boiling water and lemon balm tea bag
2- Strain
3- Put a cotton ball in the tea and apply it to your sore four times daily.
3- Tea Tree
From tea trees we can get tea tree oil. Scientists found that the smell of tea tree oil helps us to get rid of cold sore more quickly.
4- Peppermint
Peppermint oil is a good remedy as a product which is extracted from herbs for cold sore.
5- Licorice
It is delicious.
Licorice also has anti inflammatory as well as antiviral properties due to its active constituent which is glycyrrhetinic acid, it possesses properties that inhibit virus from forming cold sore.
Use Licorice as Licorice powder not as candy.
You can use it as Licorice tea.
Example of recipe that used in cold sore treatment as application of herbs for cold sore is as following:
Mix powder of Licorice with vegetable oil, take the paste which is formed and apply it to your cold sore.
6- Corn
It is used as corn starch paste. You can make it by mixing cornstarch with water and apply it to your sore a few times daily. corn starch paste neutralizes ph of your sore as acidic ph encourages cold sore which leads to inflammation and pain.
7- Vanilla
Applying vanilla oil or extract by putting pieces of cotton in oil and then applying it to your cold sore results in beneficial effects as it works as an anti-inflammatory that decreases swelling besides its application in our kitchen daily.
Essential oil of vanilla lessens infection and encourages healing.
Alcohol that is found in vanilla extracts prevents surviving cold sores.
8- Echinacea
Echinacea is one of the most useful herbs for cold sore as it makes the immune system fight the virus. People who have weak immune systems can drink echinacea tea as it enhances immunity.
It is used to cure cold sores because it fights some viruses such as herpes simplex virus so it can limit inflammation and helps curing.
9- Coconut
Its oil has antimicrobial effects, it involves triglycerides as lauric acid that are able to kill viruses and relieves cold sore.
To get a better therapeutic effect you should use other medicine with coconut.
Directly, apply Coconut with Cotton piece to your cold sore.
10- Witch Hazel
It includes astringent, antiinflammatory as well as antibacterial characters. It contributes to healing cold sore in addition to reducing inflammation.
Apply a solution of this herb to your cold sore with a clean cotton ball after doing patch test and let it until dry.
Caution:
It causes irritation of the skin so you should do this test to avoid irritation, put a patch test near the elbow before using this remedy.
11- Garlic
Garlic acts as one of the cheapest herbs for cold sore. The simplest remedy is available in our home and doesn't cost us a lot. Its products and extracts own virucidal action that affect herpes simplex virus type 1.You should crush it and apply it to your lesion.
For best results, you should take it on an empty stomach in the morning.
12- Kanuka
From it we can extract kanuka honey which possesses an antiviral effect in addition to it can promote healing of wounds so it can heal cold sore as well as it can be used as skin soothing and limit irritation of the skin.
13- Eucalyptus
In an effective way Eucalyptus oil can eliminate herpes simplex virus and make sore healing quicker.
14- Chamomile
Chamomile is one of the most important herbs for cold sore. It removes pain and contributes to healing pain. Its active constituents have anti-inflammatory properties in addition to antiseptic properties that cause soothing soreness.
For application, apply chamomile tea bag to your sore and leave it for minutes as well as you can use chamomile tea as mouthwash.
15- Sage
It is used as a tea which is used to treat soreness because it decreases inflammation and also eradicates the pain as it has astringent, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic abilities.
You can make sage mouthwash in your house as following:
1- Boil water and add it to sage leaves
2- Steep for five minutes
3- Strain solution and let it to cool
4- Switch sage mouthwash around your mouth for minutes
5- Swallow it or split it outside your mouth.
Summary
There are various effective herbs for cold sore such as lemon, pippermint, sage, kanuka, witch Hazel, garlic, licorice, aloe vera, tea, corn, vanilla, coconut, chamomile, echinacea in addition to eucalyptus due to their anti-inflammatory and anti viral properties.
By: Dr. Naira Mousa Moawad
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