Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

lovelife3 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:39:31 GMT

thanks for info on cold sores, I just got another one. I've been extremely stressed and have tried many things. I just happen to have oregeno oil, so I'll give it a try!Thanks

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

homefish — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:09:28 GMT

Dr. Mercola, you mention that there are several homeopathics that are surprisingly effective. would you be willing to mention what some of them are?

also, regarding the "up to 50,000IU for 3 days" vitamin D treatment -- is a cod liver oil with natural vitamin A in it OK to take? (i use a brand that has a 3:1 ratio of Vitamin A to Vitamin D in it). or would this cause an overdose of vitamin A? (doing the math, a 3:1 ratio would be 150,000IU of vitamin A!) ... OR... would it be better to take something that has no vitamin A in it at all? (e.g. Carlson's Solar D Gems 4000 IU). i've read that having some vitamin A with the vitamin D creates a synergistic effect. incidentally, what are the effects of taking too much vitamin A?

thanks for everything you do!

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Debramaria — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:22:05 GMT

Has Herpes ever been cured?

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

PamalaSheppard — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:36:53 GMT

The only thing that REALLY works is Cold Sore 911, invented by a natural remedies gal in Point Roberts, Washington. It stops the cold sore immediately! No kidding! www.coldsore911.net

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Teraza — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:06:47 GMT

I find that cellfood will stop a canker in its tracks.. hurts a lot! but a lot less than the canker will..

laucidin (monolaurin) is great for cold sores.. and if you catch it right away..collodial silver directly on the site, elderberry, oil of oregano, lysine, sea sure and ornithine work well for me.. i know.. confusing cocktail.. but works for me.

prevention is the best medicine though.

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

cthom22 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:05:27 GMT

"Dr" Mercola-

While I sometimes agree with your newsletter, you obviously DO NOT KNOW about or have enough experience with Valtrex and Zovirax.

I have probably much more experieince with these two drugs as I used to sell them to infectious disease DOCTORS as well as every other kind of doctor both in New York State and Connecticut as well as in Northern California. I have seen how VERY WELL AND COMPLETELY these two anti-viral drugs work WHEN USED CORRECTLY. You MUST begin anti-viral therapy as early as possiblem and best prophylacitally to prevent herpes from even appearing on the skin's surface.

Here's a bit of education: the way the medications work (both Valtrex-which is the power of the IV delivered PO) and Zovirax is that theySELECTIVELY SEEK OUT AND BIND WITH A HERPES-INFECTED CELL. At that point, when at least one is found, the medication changes form (tri-phosphoylates) into and active form and gets inside the herpes cell. It then stops the replication of the virus from spreading so that the duration and severity of the herpes outbreak is lessened. NO OTHER drug is this selective, or as safe.

Thus,Zovirax and Valtrex are BEST used to prevent herpes infections from appearing. And with Zoster, Valtrex MUST be started as soon as the patient has the thoracic pain,e even before the lesions appear-within the first 48 hours of the pain. THIS has been proven to stop the post-herpetic neuralgia.

This drug has been on the market since 1986 and has been used in pregnant women with herpes so they can deliver normally.

It is a VERY safe drug-all the items you mentioned affect EVERY CELL in the body-whereas Zovirax and Valtrex CAN ONLY WORK IN HERPES CELLS AND ARE EXCRETED OUT OF NORMAL CELLS UNCHANGED! HOW MANY VITAMINS DO THAT??

Christine Thomas, B.S. M.S. (Biology, microbiology and medicine)

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

cappi310 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:51:38 GMT

I was so happy to see your report on Herpes. I had an attack of shingles about a month and a half ago that was extremely painful and according to the doctor went into neuralgia. I was prescribed Lyrica, patches, prednesone and percoset for the pain. I'm 62 and had been under stress due to a family separation that I had been greiving over for several months before the outbreak. I take 75 mg of the medicine 2x daily, it makes me very tired and zaps my strength. The doctor said I had to come off Lyrica slowly so next Rx will be 50 mg, then 25 mg then I can stop. Dr. said this Lyrica is a brain-seizure medicine (?) that seems to work for Shingles too and feels its safer to come off slowly. Scarey! I'm so grateful to you for informing me of the natural remedies. As an aside my doctor told me she had never seen as many cases of shingles coming into her office, she said it's almost epidemic! Carol P

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Eliyahu — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:58:47 GMT

I use L-lysine : 1 gram , 3 times a day on empty stomach (very important). When the situation improved, reduce the dose by half every day, until you reach 500 mg and then stop taking the lysine. It is important to avoid arginine-reached food like nuts along the treatment period.

Since L-lysine works so good, I believe the cause of canker sore is a Herpes virus!

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Paul Doyon — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:17:11 GMT

If we look at CFS, we see that a number of viral infections (most in the herpes family like Epstein Barr Virus and Cytomegalo Virus but also Enteroviruses like Coxsackie Virus) are reactivated. Could it be that these are not the underlying cause of these problems but rather instead just Opportunistic Infections working on both a weakened immune system and damaged cellular structures? Could it be that one of the reasons we initially saw people in their forties succumbing to this condition had to do with the fact that (1) this is a time in one's life when one has most likely been exposed to a number of these viruses, and (2) this is also a time in one's life when one's body starts to become depleted in antioxidants, and (3) the electromagnetic load was pushing these people over the edge (i.e. like the straw that broke the camel's back)?

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Paul Doyon — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:16:13 GMT

You know, we really didn't start seeing an escalation in all these "reactivated" herpes viruses until around the early to mid 80s. Before that, herpes viruses didn't seem to be that much of a problem! It was also in the mid 80s that we started to see an escalation in ambient electromagnetic radiation especially in the microwave frequencies. It was in 1984 that the first nation-wide cellular phone network was set up, which is also the year people started to get what was then dubbed Yuppie Flu by the media (and remember who the first ones to be using computers and cell phones were) and later misleadingly termed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS) by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in 1988. I recall suffering from Herpes Zoster (reactivated Chicken Pox) around 1987. I have personally looked at a large number of studies which show clearly that this EMR (electromagnetic radiation) is depleting the body of its natural forms of antioxidants (Super Oxide Dismutase, Catalase, CoEnzyme Q10, Melatonin, etc.) and hence creating a deluge of a number of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) or Free Radicals in the body; and that by taking large doses of a number of different kinds of antioxidants we can quench a lot of these ROS and hence reduce the damage.

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

soneal01 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:19:23 GMT

I break out with mulitple canker sores in my mouth with any significant use of vitamin C. The amount contained in virtually any multi-vitamin is enough to set the reaction off. My problem is that ALL multi-vitamins contain vitamin C (that I can find), so what do I do? Is there a way around this reaction? I can't afford

to compose my own C-free multis. Dr. Mercola, is there a cure? treatment? substitute multi? Please help.

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

mer10506 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:21:16 GMT

I used to be a model, so cold sores were more than a nuisance. My solution is to take Lysine daily. When I do this I rarely get outbreaks. But when I do, the very best thing is to apply ice at the first sign of a tingle. Unless it is a really gigantic outbreak this will kill the virus and you won't even get any blisters! Usually one ice cube until melted is enough, but if you still feel the tingle, reapply the ice. And then use zoverax creme or gel. The combination of those two things will keep the blisters at bay. But the sooner you apply the ice the better.

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

firemans lady — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:42:07 GMT

My mom told me to rub salt on a canker sore,which was regular table salt. If I get one which isn't often I use sea salt to rub on it,yes it stings for a couple seconds but its gone.

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

Carole — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:12:06 GMT

Four years ago my mother sent me an article that was in her local paper about canker sores. I stopped using commercial toothpaste and started using Kiss My Face brand, as it seems sodium lauryl sulfate (and other derivatives) can wreak havoc not only with our mouth but with our bodies. Unfortunately it seems to be in just about everything! I have not had ONE canker sore since I switched!

re: Are Cold Sores Really Herpes? Here's the Truth...

whohaven — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:05:26 GMT

I recently discovered VIRGIN COCONUT OIL. It has anti viral properties and haven't had a breakout since I stared using it That's almost one year