Herpes (cold sores)

Herpes (cold sores) is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which most adults carry in the nervous system without symptoms most of the time. The virus can "wake" under stress, sun, fever, hormonal shifts or a lowered immune system, showing up as a tingling, burning sensation followed by small fluid-filled blisters, typically around the lips. An outbreak usually lasts 7-10 days and clears on its own, but acting in the first hours can shorten it markedly.

Plants and herbs that help

Lemon balm, Topical creams with lemon balm have shown in studies to reduce swelling and speed healing, one of the most widely used natural treatments for cold sores.
Liquorice root, The active compound glycyrrhizin has shown in lab and animal studies to inhibit herpes virus growth.
Honey, Wound-healing and antibacterial, lowering the risk of secondary infection.
Ice / cold, Cooling the area in the first minutes after a tingling sensation can limit the size of the outbreak.

Recipes

Compress

Lemon balm compress

This is the emergency version. If you do not have the lip balm ready, and it starts to prickle, you can make a compress in half an hour. Lemon balm is one of the best-studied plants for cold sores, and timing is everything. Applied at the very first prickle, the outbreak can be smaller and shorter. Applied once the blister has broken, it still helps, but less. So do not wait and see. Put the kettle on.

25 minutesEasy

Salve

Lemon balm lip balm

Lemon balm is one of the few herbs where the research agrees with your grandmother. Creams with melissa have been shown to reduce swelling and shorten an outbreak, and it works best if you catch it early. The balm takes two weeks to make, because the oil has to steep. So make it now, while the plant is standing, and keep it in your bag for the day your throat turns scratchy and your lip starts to prickle. That is the whole point: you cannot make it once you need it.

40 minutesMedium

Other

Liquorice root paste

A thick paste of powdered liquorice root and a little water, dabbed on with a cotton bud. That is the whole recipe, and it takes two minutes. Liquorice root contains glycyrrhizin, which in laboratory and animal studies has shown activity against herpes virus. It is not as well documented as lemon balm, but it is an old and well-founded use. The paste dries and forms a layer over the sore. It holds moisture in, eases the stinging, and stops you touching it constantly. which in itself helps more than you would think.

5 minutesEasy

SalveMember

Selfheal lip balm

Selfheal is Prunella vulgaris. It stands in lawns and verges across the country, low and unremarkable, with a dense purple flower head like a small cone. Most people walk past it. They should not. Selfheal contains prunellin and rosmarinic acid, and laboratory studies show it hinders the herpes virus from entering cells. It has even shown activity against strains that have become resistant to ordinary antiviral medication. That is an unusual thing for a plant from a lawn. Note the distinction: where lemon balm has been studied in people, selfheal has mainly been studied in the laboratory and used traditionally for centuries. Promising, but not the same as proven. If you want both, make it with half selfheal and half lemon balm. The two share the same active compound and work the same way.

40 minutesMedium

The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.