Fever Blisters, Oh My!

Aren't they horrible? I've had them my whole life. They ruined picture day in 5th grade, and made me self-conscious around my boyfriend in 9th grade. I hate them. Some call them cold sores, some confuse them for canker sores. But they are what they are: a horrible virus that rears its ugly head on or around my mouth.

I've tried various things throughout the years. I've tried Campho-Phenique, and Abreva, but it would still take several days (even over a week) to get better. I finally got smart and began thinking about how to be proactive. When I felt that hot spot on my lip slowly get warmer and larger, I would run to the bathroom and dab hydrogen peroxide on it. It worked sometimes.

Then, in college, I began changing my diet. It looked a lot less typical and lot more "traditional" - with more raw foods, fermented foods, fatty foods, and way less carbs. (You can learn more about it through the Weston A. Price foundation website.)

One side effect that I didn't notice for several years was how infrequently I got a fever blister. Before, I knew to expect several a year. Before I knew it, however, it had been several years since one came to the surface.

In the last 2 years, my diet has - eh, hem - suffered a bit with the growth of our family, and so has my health. I've fought off more colds and illnesses, and have noticed that more fever blisters have been trying to come up.

I've never been entirely happy with how hydrogen peroxide worked preventively, and so when one nearly came up last week, I scrambled for how to nip it in the bud.

And, Eureka!

I grabbed a q-tip and my handy bottle of Swedish Bitters (which does have camphor in it), the ickiest concoction of bitter herbs you've ever tasted. I've learned the past few years how good bacteria helps your immune system, and bitter/spicy things will fight off the bad things.

One little dab of my Swedish Bitters and the hot feeling was gone. Instantly!

So whereas my diet has proven the best way to avoid fever blisters, I know now exactly what to grab if one does surface!

And by the way, I'm curious to see if other virus/bad bacteria-fighting herbs (like oil of oregano, or goldenseal) would have the same effect on fever blisters...That's for another time, I suppose.