Millions of people suffer from cold sores every single day.
It usually flares up at the worst possible time and quite often leaves us feeling embarrassed and ashamed due to the appearance of the cold sores.
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus also known as HSV-1. It is a highly contagious virus and should be treated with caution to ensure you don’t spread it further on your face or to anyone else.
There are quite a few over the counter medications that you can use for cold sores but generally I prefer to use natural remedies as I find they often work just as well, and in some cases even better.
Cold sores can last anywhere from 4 days to 4 weeks which is why I find it important that I have natural home remedies for situations like this.
In most cases I can use a few different essential oils to get rid of cold sores such as lavender oil, tea tree oil and sometimes peppermint oil which all have powerful healing benefits.
Here are my favorite essential oils for cold sores that will not only help you get rid of cold sores or fever blisters but they also have a wide range of other benefits which include helping with wasp stings, bug bites and more.
Lavender is one of my favorite essential oils of all time due to the beautiful scent and powerful anti-inflammatory effects it has.
I like to apply a few drops of lavender straight onto the cold sore which I find to be very effective.
If you have never used lavender essential oil on your skin before you may want to try diluting it in 1 or 2 tsp of carrier oil such as olive oil.
If the lavender oil doesn’t do the job I will move on to this oil which I think does work better but honestly I just really prefer the scent of lavender.
It has very powerful antiseptic properties that will help kill the cold sore and keep it clean. I also like to apply this one without diluting it but of course you’ll want to mix in with a carrier oil if you have never tried it just to be sure you can tolerate it.
This one is very powerful against the herpes virus and if you’ve ever been really unsure how to get rid of them then this essential oil is going to be really helpful in reducing the cold sore and inflammation.
While peppermint oil hasn’t been proven to actually heal cold sores it can be very effective at helping to soothe the pain and discomfort associated with the cold sores.
It will help by moisturizing your lip and the skin around it while providing a powerful cooling effect which some people find really helps take the edge off.
Personally I would prefer to try lavender and if I couldn’t then I would give peppermint oil a shot as it will still help soothe any inflamed or irritated skin.
Working out how to get rid of a cold sore caused by the herpes simplex virus wasn’t exactly a quick process but I’m glad I tried using essential oils as they are very easy to use.
It’s important that you apply essential oils correctly to the skin especially when dealing with painful issues like cold sores.
If you have never applied essential oils to your skin directly it is recommended that you dilute 10-20 drops of the oil into 1-2 tsp of carrier oil.
Carrier oil is usually a common household oil such as olive oil or coconut oil, it’s up to you which one to use however I prefer coconut oil as I don’t like the smell of olive oil as much.
Once you have your oil mixture you can use you finger (make sure its clean first) or a cotton ball and gently dab some of the oils onto the cold sore or fever blister.
Make sure to reapply every few hours as needed.
When you finish applying the oils make sure to wash your hands thoroughly as the cold sores are highly contagious and you don’t want to risk spreading it further.