The pleasure of making remedies is immeasurable!
I have been getting cold sores since I was 7. My dad does and so did my grandma. They have ranged from very small and gone in a few days to widespread across my chin and taking weeks to heal. But, they’re always around my mouth. The virus lives in your spinal column and you get your sores in the area which the nerves it affects serve.
I, like most who have them, hate them. They make you feel dirty because they’re so contagious and once they’re scabby, just ugly!
Dietary modifications can reduce the prevalence but the foods to be avoided are good ones (most nuts, oats and more).
I have used various natural, chemical and herbal products. Nothing has been brilliant but some have reduced the severity and duration length.
This summer, with aspects of COVID-19 lockdown measures still in place, I took a look around the garden. I had so many lovely flowers with activity for healing, anti-viral properties and the humble self-heal with its alleged affinity for herpetic wounds according to traditional herbal books, I thought it was time to give it a go.
I gathered some lemon balm, calendula flowers, lavender flowers, st john’s wort and self heal. I let them wilt in the heat but out of the light and then infused them all in oil in a porringer for a couple of hours. Once that was done, I thickened it, but not too much, with beeswax and shea butter. I usually love a super thick nourishing lip balm but to get the best medicine, this needs frequent re-application so, a lighter texture was my priority here.
I was almost keen to get another sore! The balm is wonderful. I’m surprised myself by its efficacy. It was so much more effective than anything else I have ever used. It didn’t disappear instantly – I wish I had that level of magic! – but it was so much quicker than other sores I have had and also other treatments I have used.
Get in touch if you experience frequent cold sores as, whilst good topical treatments when you get them are great, it’s better if you can keep your immune system in tip-top order and prevent them occuring. Herbs and EFT are powerful tools for managing daily stressors and keeping well.