Penn Herb Wellness Guide

Cold Sores

Also indexed as:Fever Blisters, Herpes Simplex 1
Cold Sores: Main Image

Primary Remedies

Calendula Ointment

This remedy keeps the skin or lips moisturized and speeds up healing.

Natrum muriaticum

This remedy sometimes stops a herpes outbreak if taken in the early, tingling stage. It is also helpful for raw, red cold sores that develop on the lips and corners of the mouth, as well as the nostril area, face, and chin. Eruptions may also appear in the genital area. Eating too much salt (which the person craves) and being in the sun sometimes aggravates the symptoms.

Rhus toxicodendron

This relieves small vesicles filled with a clear liquid on red and painful skin.

Other Remedies

Apis mellifica

This remedy relieves swollen, itching, burning skin or lips, relieved by cold applications.

Arsenicum album

Eruptions with burning pain relieved by applying heat suggest a need for this remedy. The person may feel anxious, restless, chilly, and exhausted.

Borax

This remedy can be useful for herpes eruptions in any area, with tense-feeling inflammation. Sensitivity to noise and a fear of falling are other indications for Borax.

Graphites

Herpes eruptions, with oozing of honey-like discharge and crusting and cracking of the skin, suggest a need for this remedy. The person may tend toward many problems with the skin, be stout, and have trouble concentrating.

Hepar sulphuris calcareum

Herpes sores that are very sensitive to touch and worse from any form of cold suggest a need for this remedy. A person who needs Hepar sulph is extremely sensitive to cold, and often has a low resistance to infection.

Mercurius solubilis

This remedy may be indicated for sore, infected eruptions—especially if the person has swollen lymph nodes and offensive breath, is extremely sensitive to temperatures, and tends to sweat at night.

Mezereum

this remedy relieves thick, whitish crusts with a yellowish secretion oozing under the crusts.

Petroleum

This remedy may be helpful for genital herpes that spread to the anal area and thighs. People who need this remedy have a tendency toward many skin problems, with rough, dry skin that cracks and bleeds.

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The information presented here is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of USregistered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2025.