I tried applying ice to my current cold sore this week and it did really help soothe and numb the area so I will be trying this treatment more often in future. What a natural and inexpensive remedy; you can’t get much purer than water!
Since trying out the ice remedy, I have researched some more on the internet and discovered that ice is in fact one of the most natural and popular cold sore remedies there is. Applying ice to a cold sore is easy to do, it is a natural ingredient so no chance of an adverse reaction, it is easy to get hold of, it numbs the area and it helps to prevent the virus spreading. Guidelines recommend applying ice for up to 10 minutes at a time and no more than 3 times an hour but this seems like a lot to me, I just applied it for a minute and felt instant relief.
A few sufferers of recurring cold sores on forums I have visited have said that when they applied ice at the first tingling sensation of a cold sore occurring, it sometimes stopped the cold sores from turning into blisters. Unfortunately, my current cold sore was already at a blister stage by the time I tried the ice but next time I will be applying the ice straight away to test this. However, the ice did still help in providing relief from the burning sensation. It is advised not to use ice when your cold sores are healing as it may actually take them longer to heal.
Susan, a girl of about my age who I was chatting to on one of the internet forums who like me, also suffers with recurrent cold sores attacks told me that she swears by lemon balm tea as a natural treatment for her cold sores.
Lemon balm teabags can be easily found where speciality teas are sold. Apparently the lemon balm herb contains anti-viral properties and this makes it a natural cold sore treatment.
Susan said she makes a strong batch of lemon balm tea using bottled water and then freezes the tea bags. When she gets a cold sore she uses these instead of plain ice and gets the soothing effect of the ice and as the tea-bag melts, the anti-viral properties of lemon balm.
So I’m off to hunt down lemon balm tea, what a great idea.