Cold sores are so obnoxious I decided to do more research into how to heal them. Furthermore a predisposition to them can be hereditary!
Reishi mushrooms
Reishi mushrooms have a long history of being used to boost the effectiveness of the immune system in traditional medicine throughout many parts of Asia.
In more recent times however, evidence has pointed to the fact that reishi also seems to have the ability to inhibit the spread of the herpes virus, thereby preventing the development of cold sores.
Furthermore, as reishi can be obtained in either powdered or food supplement form, the benefits of including this in your diet are readily available even if the mushrooms themselves are not.
Herbal remedies for cold sores
There are many herbal solutions that you can use to keep the herpes simplex at bay. These include the following:
Echinacea and goldenseal – Both echinacea and goldenseal are plants from which the extract helps to boost the ability of your immune system to fight against viruses like herpes simplex. The extract is available in capsule form over the counter in most health stores or online.
Self-heal – This is a plant that grows in Europe and in Asia (with a more scientific name of ‘Prunella vulgaris') of which the extract has been seen to be effective against the spread of both the herpes simplex 1 and herpes simplex 2 viruses.
There is also some evidence that it works against strains of the virus that have become resistant to drug-based cold sore solutions as well, and again, you should be able to find the extract in your local health food store or it is available for purchase online.
Blackcurrant – Studies in Japan have indicated that eating blackcurrants or including the extract of them as a supplement in your diet may be effective for combating the herpes virus as laboratory tests have indicated the effectiveness of blackcurrants against herpes simplex.
Wakame – Wakame is the Japanese name for a particular type of seaweed which appears to improve the healing time for anyone who is suffering from cold sores, whilst there is also some evidence that it inhibits the reactivation of the virus as well.
Sage and rhubarb cream – In a German study that compared the use of sage and rhubarb cream with the effectiveness of a cream using sage and Acyclovir, it was seen that there was little difference in the ability of the two test substances to help cold sores heal. However, the study concluded that the all natural mixture of sage and rhubarb was more active in fighting against cold sores, hence there is every reason for thinking that the natural option is to be preferred to the one containing chemicals.