Natural remedies/supplements for herpes outbreaks?

Hey there!

I noticed some posts that mentioned taking a lysine supplement is good in preventing BOs.

I am really interesting in holistic health and natural care and wanted to know if anyone knew of or used other natural remedies and supplements to prevent or treat their BOs?

Thanks

Hi again, dreamer!

Here's a blog article to kick you off ...

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-treatment

And plenty of our community members have their own experience of what has worked well (and not so well) for them.

lots of references here in multiple posts including tea tree oil and vit e plus certain soaps.

Yep, our beloved peterk is right. Here's one of the recent threads he's referring to:

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/2096/question-for-the-guys-or-women-with-herpily-endowed-partners/p1

I made a decision to go natural with my primary and may continue in the future.

I used:

Aloe cream (that's important as gel doesn't work as well; keep in mind, there is also some research that aloe works better on men than on women for reasons unknown.

Lysine supplement (1500 mg a day; 500mg a dose x 3 times; anything more is overkill and actually hampers the immune system or gets expelled. Some people say they take up to 3000mg during an outbreak and that's really unnecessary as 1500 plus a significant reduction in foods that contain arginine is more than sufficient to starve the bugger.

Plus healthy foods, sleep, moderate exercise, cocoa butter soap to keep it clean and supple, and stress reduction. From the first blister formation to complete healing with just a bit of tenderness remaining took 8 days.

Tea tree oil, vitamin E, vitamin C, soap, salt baths, and even Acetone are also reported remedies but I haven't tried these yet.

Thanks, so helpful!! I appreciate it :)

And here are a few more links for you :)

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1802/going-the-natural-route#Item_4

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1912/camu-camu-superfruit-antiviral-that-could-help-with-herpes#Item_11

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1925/emotional-freedom-technique-eft#Item_2

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1624/herpes-medication-genital-hsv-1-how-to-keep-herpes-outbreaks-clean-dry#Item_22

I'll have to try the Aloe cream. I bought the gel and putting that down there was definitely one of the worst mistakes EVER. Thought I was going to pass out from the burning sensation.

Just started taking Lysine today. Hope that plus the meds I'm on starts slowing it down and makes it go away.

OWeeee - yeah - Aloe Gel has alcohol in it ----

Good idea to check ingredients in future, eh???

One thing I thought of that I wonder if it would help - I used Calendula cream when I nursed my daughters in the early days as their nursing would create blisters which hurt like hell when they nursed. It really soothed the blisters and helped the skin heal quickly. If nothing else it may be good for the healing process once the blisters are drying up. You can get it in most health food stores ...

Yeah I definitely should have checked! Haha. Well at least now I'll have some on hand for summer time. I've been applying witch hazel to the blisters to try to get them to dry up faster and I think it's somewhat helping. My biggest problem is the blisters that are inside. They seem harder to get rid of. Guess I'll just keep taking my medicine and with time they'll go away on their own. They're just a bit frustrating!

Try epsom salts baths too... One of the ladies on here said she would use at least 4 handfuls in the bath and dropped it in the water all around her so it was concentrated there. I wonder if you could do a douche with an epsom salt solution? I don't see why not.....

Try Aloe vera in oil form, i got some from whole foods and it was 98% aloe. used it with vitamin E oil. tea tree had no effect.

I am unsure if I actually had a blister inside or not, I have read that some women will pee in a bottle so the urine don't hit the blister or pee in the tub..so the water dilutes it. I did burn when I peed, so what I did was (strange as this sounds) each time I peed I would tilt my pelvis until I found a way that it didn't burn. DRINK WATER! Dilutes your pee, so it is less strong. No lie, this will work. I have interstitial cystitis as well and water dilutes it so I don't burn as bad when I pee. I did epsom salt baths as @WCS said. It is my little praise the Lord for this gift on Earth. I did the 4 handfuls and it felt so good, and I truly believe it is what dried me up. It may sting a little, but not bad. Two baths a day. I also take lysine supplements. I took 3 pills during my outbreak and then now I only take them when I don't eat enough lysine in my diet. On the subject of a douche, I would sit in the epsom salt bath and flush the water with my hand up into my junk. It is just salt water, so no harm there. Kind of like this, I would get a current going with the water, sit in a way that "opened" me up and flushed water to the area. It helps, give it a try.

tea tree oil is great for prevention so as to dry out the area before it starts but its probably not so good for the healing process

Tea tree oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Blisters can get bacteria in them too so Tea Tree oil hits both the things that complicate the OB ;)

Some people swear by it..... it wasn't really around when I had by worst OB's (many years ago) but I use it for other things like a fungal issue I had recently and it really helped.

Well said

I find that Tea Tree oil is extremely soothing during an outbreak and if I feel like one is creeping up on me, I'll start using it as a preventative measure. I read somewhere at the beginning of my diagnosis that oil of oregano was recommended and I would like to strangle whoever put that on the internet-stay away from that! I have noticed a complete change in my overall health since I started taking vitamins daily-I'm a huge believer in zinc and Vitamin C, L-lysine, and a good multivitamin.

right on

I noticed the tingling sensation 8 days ago and immediately tripled the amount of L-lysine I took as well started my Valtrex. One thing that I haven't seen anybody post about is coconut oil. It has to be virgin coconut oil because that is the type that has antiviral properties. I started applying it topically where I felt the tingling and the sensitive areas 2-3 times a day and never developed a blister :)

Coconut oil is in some discussion somewhere and yes, many people have great success with it :)

I've used it with Tea Tree to get a belt and braces effect for other things and it works well.

I just tried cold pressed all organic coconut oil last night and I already have some results. It doesn't hurt as bad and it looks like its starting to heal. (:

Hi all, I am glad to see there are some alternative treatments available. I had a terrible allergic reaction to Valtrex when I first started taking it and had to stop. I have been taking L Lysine and it seems to help when I keep up with it. I also use a topical antiseptic like Betadyne when I feel the first tingle of an outbreak. That helps to clear them up more quickly. If anyone else has had an allergic reaction to Valtrex. I'd be interested in hearing their experiences and if they were ever able to take it or one of the other suppressive meds.

I remember Adrial saying to use witchhazel wipes aka TUCKS medicated. It works I tried a sitz bath with Epsom Salts and either I used too much and not enough water but I thought I saw my spirit leave my body. The pain was excruciating. Sorry I haven't been on for a while been busy.

On my second outbreak : (

NexixLexis

Likely you used too much salt/not enough water...BUT the stinging was a good sign... odds are things will have started dry up after that... if not it's because you only did it once. It may well tingle a bit when the amount is right but for me, the temporary discomfort (should not be pain in this case) is well worth it if it dries it up quickly. I use neat Ammonium Alum but I only get 1 sore at a time...that stuff can make me dance around the room (it's how I get my new moves...LOL) but it will make the little sucker dry right up in a couple applications ;)

Has anyone tried Graviola? If so what do you reckon?:)