Alternative Remedies for Cold Sores and Herpes

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Alternative Remedies for Cold Sores and Herpes

JoAnn Guest

Feb 05, 2004 17:03 PST

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Alternative Remedies for Cold Sores and Herpes

 

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/55.cfm

 

The phone rang. It was a woman who wanted to know if juice from

mayapple roots would heal her herpes sores.

 

I get a lot of strange questions out of the blue, but there's

usually a reason for them. This particular woman had heard me speak

several months earlier at a seminar on shamanistic alternative

medicine. At that time, I had mentioned four compounds in mayapple

that together gang up on the Herpes simplex virus.

 

What's interesting here is that when you try each of these compounds

individually, you get much less anti-herpes action. The " magic

bullets " that the pharmaceutical industry so loves to extract from

herbs simply aren't there. In other words, when it comes to

mayapple, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That

happens with a lot of herbs, which is why I'm a whole-herb

herbalist.

 

I advised against using mayapple juice, as it can be caustic, and

mayapple resin is downright dangerous. But I didn't leave her

stranded.

Instead I ended up settling on a different herb--lemon balm

(melissa)--to treat her problem. But before we get into discussing

all the herbs that I recommend for this problem, let's take a closer

look at this herpes bug.

 

 

Know Your Enemy

 

H. simplex comes in two forms, cold sores and genital herpes. This

virus

is a cousin to H. zoster, which causes another type of painful skin

lesion called shingles. Cold sores develop around the mouth,

generally

on the lips. In women, genital herpes occurs in and around the

vagina

and cervix. In men, it shows up on and around the penis. In both

sexes

it also occurs around the anus.

 

Herpes is very contagious, and it shows pretty much the same pattern

whether it develops on the mouth or the genitals.

 

Following initial contact with the virus, the first symptoms

typically

occur in four to seven days. These include tingling, burning or a

persistent itch, followed a day or so later by pimple-like bumps

over

reddened skin. The pimples turn into painful blisters that burst and

exude blood and yellowish pus. Five to seven days after the first

tingling, scabs form and healing begins.

 

People with active lesions shed the virus and are contagious. But

viral

shedding also occurs during the tingling stage before any sore is

visible. That's one reason that herpes affects so many people.

People

who have it can't always tell when they're contagious. Although most

people develop sores within a week of infection, it's possible to be

infected with the virus for quite some time before developing any

sores.

 

 

Some 30 percent of American adults have had either oral or genital

herpes. Sometimes the lesions recur periodically. Sometimes they

appear

once and never again. And sometimes they recur for a while and then

stop. Probably everyone harbors the virus, but it remains dormant in

most people.

 

Technically, there are two types of herpesvirus, one originally

considered oral and the other genital. But oral sex can spread each

type

from the mouth to the genitalia and vice versa, so the distinction

is

increasingly meaningless. And in any case, both types respond to

treatment with the same herbs.

 

Green Pharmacy for Herpes and Cold Sores

 

Now to the anti-herpes herbal lineup. Here are the leaders of the

virus-fighting pack.

 

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). Also known as melissa, lemon

balm's

demonstrated antiviral, anti-herpes properties seem to result from

compounds in the herb, including tannins, that are known as

polyphenols.

Here's how these compounds work to tame herpes outbreaks.

 

The body's cells have receptors that viruses latch on to when

they're

trying to take over the cells. The polyphenol compounds have the

ability

to latch on to the cells' viral receptor sites. They take up those

spaces and prevent the viruses from attaching to the cell, thus

preventing the spread of infection.

 

This is a first-choice herbal treatment. In fact, I told the woman

who

was desperately seeking something to heal her herpes sores that I'd

personally recommend making mixed mint tea, heavy with lemon balm.

She

could drink the tea, then apply the dregs from the tea bags directly

to

the lesions.

 

Mints, especially lemon balm, contain antioxidant vitamins and

selenium,

which strengthen the immune system. (antioxidants are chemicals that

mop

up free radicals, the naturally occurring oxygen molecules that

damage

the body's cells.) All mints also contain at least four antiviral

compounds that target the herpesvirus.

 

Not too long ago in Peru, naturopath Stephen Morris, N.D., taught

our

Amazonian Medicine Workshop how to make our own herpes ointment. We

carefully heated some olive or palm oil, incorporating melted

beeswax at

a 1:4 ratio. To the cream, we added powdered lemon balm, mixed and

strained it and then allowed it to cool. Our host, Socorro, smiled

as we

did all this over an open fire in her open-air, outdoor " kitchen. "

 

You really don't need to get this elaborate, however. Varro Tyler,

Ph.D., dean and professor emeritus of pharmacognosy (natural product

pharmacy) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and

author of

The Honest Herbal, tends to be conservative when it comes to herbs.

Dr.

Tyler says that you can get results by using topical applications of

lemon balm tea, which you can brew using two to four teaspoons of

herb

per cup of boiling water. Then apply it with a cotton ball several

times

a day.

 

" This treatment is probably as effective as any other self-selected

remedy for cold sores, " says Dr. Tyler.

 

 

European Know-How

 

Think Americans have the best of everything? Guess again.

 

When it comes to herbs, European commercial products are often

better

than our own.

 

An herbal ointment for treating herpes, which is widely available in

Europe, has lemon balm as the active ingredient. The herbal content

is

quite concentrated--700 milligrams of dry leaf material per gram of

ointment.

 

In a rigorous scientific test of 116 people with herpes, the

ointment

containing lemon balm was 2.5 times as effective as a similar cream

without the herb (a placebo).

The herbal product was especially effective when treatment was begun

early, as the lesions were first erupting.

 

In another study involving 115 people using lemon balm, 96 percent

had

healed completely by day 8, with no significant side effects.

Normally

it takes anywhere from 10 to 14 days for herpes sores to heal. If I

had

herpes, and if European lemon balm cream were available here, I'd

try

it. Unfortunately, it is not, so I stick with my garden melissa.

 

 

 

Echinacea (Echinacea, various species). Also known as coneflower,

echinacea has been shown in many studies to have both antiviral and

immune-stimulating properties.

 

Consider, for example, the following case report from the British

Journal of Phytotherapy:

After suffering for 12 years with recurrent genital herpes, a man

took

echinacea. He found that if he took it within an hour or two after

he

noticed the initial tingling, he had far less pain and the outbreak

stopped.

 

Herbalists generally recommend taking echinacea in a tincture. Add

about

a half-teaspoon of the tincture to tea or juice and take it three

times

a day.

 

Some tinctures are a mixture of echinacea and goldenseal, which also

has

antimicrobial, immune-stimulating benefits. Although echinacea can

cause

the tongue to tingle or go numb temporarily, this effect is

harmless.

Some herbalists rely on this reaction to assure them that they have

echinacea and not some adulterant. (Adulterants in commercial herb

preparations are an ongoing problem.)

 

Mint family herbs. Lemon balm is not the only mint with antiviral,

anti-herpes activity. There are a whole bunch of other herbs in the

mint

family that are almost as effective.

 

Here's where I plug my Happy Herpicide Tea, which is made from

several

herbs that are members of the mint family: hyssop, lemon balm,

oregano,

rosemary, sage, self-heal (yes, this is the name of a widely

available

herb) and thyme.

 

To make the tea, fill a saucepan half full of water. Bring the water

to

a boil, then add fresh lemon balm leaves until the pan is about

three-quarters full. If you don't have access to fresh leaves, you

can

use about a quarter-cup of dried lemon balm. (This is an unusually

high

amount of herb for brewing a tea, but you really need a lot of it to

get

the antiviral action that you want.) To the lemon balm and water,

add

two parts each of dried oregano and self-heal and one part each of

hyssop, rosemary, sage and thyme.

 

Aside from the lemon balm, the actual amounts of the other herbs

don't

make much difference; just make sure you use twice as much of the

oregano and self-heal as you do of the others. Finally, toss in a

little

licorice root to sweeten the tea and steep it for 20 minutes.

 

This mixture contains a dozen compounds that are active against

herpes.

The list of chemicals in this brew is rather imposing, but you

should

know what you get for going to all this trouble: caffeic acid,

geraniin,

glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhizin, lysine, protocatechuic acid,

quercetin,

rosmarinic acid, tannic acid, thymol, tocopherol and zinc.

 

Red pepper (Capsicum, various species). The hot ingredient in red

pepper is capsaicin. Tests on laboratory animals show that capsaicin

can

prevent outbreaks of herpes in the eye for up to two months, and

topical

capsaicin preparations (Zostrix, Capzasin-P) are used to relieve the

pain of shingles. (If you use capsaicin cream, always wash your

hands

thoroughly afterward to avoid the possibility of getting it in your

eyes. Also, you should test it on a small area of skin before using

it

on a larger area. If you experience irritation, discontinue use.)

 

I wouldn't recommend sprinkling cayenne on any herpes lesions,

especially those on the eye, since that could really hurt. But why

not

season your Happy Herpicide Tea with hot-pepper sauce? Although you

drink it rather than dab it on, you'll still benefit from the active

ingredients.

 

St.-John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum). One compound in

St.-John's-wort, hypericin, helps kill H. simplex and several other

viruses. Although ointments containing hypericin are effective

against

herpes sores, you don't need to buy one. Try brewing a strong tea,

and

after it cools, dab it on with cotton balls.

 

Garlic (Allium sativum). In test-tube studies, garlic has shown

viricidal effects against both types of herpesvirus and many other

viruses, including those that cause colds and flu. You can make

garlic

into a tea, but you will probably enjoy it a whole lot more if you

just

toss a few minced cloves onto a plate of pasta or add them to a

mixed

green salad.

 

Amino acids. Now let's wiggle a toe into nutritional waters. An

amino

acid, arginine, is considered necessary for viral replication. A

preponderance of another amino acid, lysine, over arginine is

supposed

to suppress viral replication. Hence, those who value this theory

seek

foods with a high-lysine, low-arginine content. Several plants have

high-lysine/low-arginine ratios, including star fruit (nearly 4:1),

papaya (about 3:1) and grapefruit, apricot, pear, apple and fig

(around

2:1).

 

Some people take a daily supplement of 1,300 milligrams of lysine at

the

first inkling of a herpes outbreak. It would take a little more than

two

pounds of fresh watercress to provide that amount, but only a half-

cup

of dried watercress. While you wouldn't want to eat this much

watercress, there are a few other foods that will give you a fairly

hefty dose of lysine.

 

A cup of black beans, lentils, non-gmo soybeans or winged beans

provides

more than 2,500 milligrams of lysine. If you're making bean soup

with

these ingredients, spice it well with hot-pepper sauce for a little

extra anti-herpes action.

 

Assorted essential oils. Aromatherapists note that combinations of

essential oils, such as lemon and geranium or eucalyptus and

bergamot,

can be helpful against herpes if applied at the first sign of an

outbreak. Some aromatherapists say that rose oil and lemon balm oil

have

contributed, in some cases, to complete remission of H. simplex

lesions,

sometimes after only one application.

 

This approach seems worth a try. You can apply any of these oils

topically using a cotton ball.

 

Warning: Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts. Make

sure you never ingest them unless they've been prescribed by a

reputable

herbalist or aromatherapist. Small quantities of some oils, on the

order

of a single teaspoon, can be fatal.

 

Drug-herb combination. I'll report news of a surprising study by

Japanese scientists. They combined the pharmaceutical anti-herpes

drug,

acyclovir (Zovirax), with any one of four tannin-rich herbal

extracts:

Japanese avens (Geum japonicum), Javanese sumac (Rhus javanica),

cloves

(Syzygium aromaticum) and chebula (Terminalia chebula). The

combination

treatment worked significantly better than acyclovir alone or the

herbs

alone. Because acyclovir is a prescription drug, you'll have to ask

your

doctor about trying this one.

 

Healing beverages. Tea and the juices of apple, cranberry, grape,

pear,

prune and strawberry all seem to help kill viruses.

 

Tannins are usually the active components in these juices.

 

Pear juice, which is rich in anti-herpes caffeic acid, might be your

best juice choice.