14 Home Remedies for Cold Sores

Why is it that cold sores seem to appear whenever you have an important event? That large, unsightly blister that you know everyone will notice not to mention the pain that it brings along with it. Cold sores aren’t anything new, they’ve been showing up on faces for a very long time. Today we treat them with medications we find at the pharmacy, but the best solutions are the home remedies for cold sores that our grandmother’s concocted right out of their pantries.

1. To speed up healing, keep the sore clean with
   hydrogen peroxide.
2. To speed up healing, dab the cold sore with
   witch hazel. Repeat 1-2 times per day until the sore is gone.
3. When you begin to feel a cold sore coming on,
   dab the area with a little vanilla extract. Repeat 3-4 times a day until the sore is gone.
4. To sooth the pain and reduce swelling, dab the
   sore with a cotton ball soaked in vinegar.
   Repeat every 4-6 hours until gone.
5. To heal, apply a paste made by mixing crushed
   mint leaves with a little vinegar. Allow the paste to sit on the sore for 5
   minutes before rinsing clean. Repeat 2-3 times a day until the sore is gone.
6. To relieve the pain, apply aloe vera to the cold
   sore.
7. To heal, dab a little toothpaste on the sore
   before going to bed. Repeat nightly until the sore is gone.
8. To dry up a cold sore, wash the affected area
   with Fels
   Naptha and rinse. Repeat 3-4 times a day until gone.
9. To relieve the pain, apply a paste made by
   mixing together cornstarch and water before going to bed. Rinse with clean
   water the next morning. Repeat nightly until the cold sore is gone.
10. To heal the sore, cut a clove of garlic
    in half and dab it on the cold sore.
11. To ease pain and speed up healing, apply a
    cotton ball soaked in milk to the sore for several minutes. Repeat a few times
    a day until the sore is gone.
12. When you begin to feel a cold sore coming on,
    dab the area with a little Vick’s
    VapoRub. Repeat a couple of times a day until the cold sore is gone.
13. To speed up healing, dab the cold sore with vodka. Repeat until the sore is gone.

Image courtesy of marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net