The Next Time That Your Beauty Gets Compromised by a Cold Sore, Try This Natural DIY Lemon Balm Treatment

Lemon Balm

Cold sores are not only painful, but ugly once those tiny blisters take over a mouth.  In my case, they always liked to appear when you have something important scheduled like a dentist appointment or a big date.  

Of course, you can’t control when cold sores pop up since they are caused by a virus, the herpes simplex virus to be exact, but you can take several steps in limiting how long it stays.

The herpes simplex virus has to have arginine for reproducing in your system.  This basic amino acid is found in most proteins.  However, you can try counteracting the arginine from multiplying by taking a lysine supplement only while you have the cold sore and if not on medication.  You might want to try a 1000mg. lysine tablet twice or as much as three times a day, but no more.  You may want to check with your doctor first.  

Another way is using lemon balm.  If you have a garden, this is an easy herb to grow that is quite useful for help healing cold sores.  What you can do is dry some leaves (about three teaspoons) to later brew a tea in one cup of boiling water, not to drink but to dab on the cold sore with cotton balls once it cools.  You don’t have to keep making fresh cups for each treatment, but keep using this same one that day.  

If you don’t have the fresh herb handy, you could always try lemon balm essential oil better known as pure melissa essential oil. Also, you need to use a carrier oil like grape seed or jojoba oil to safely dilute it.  Use one drop of the melissa essential oil to a teaspoon of your carrier oil.  Again, you might want to check with your doctor if you have any health condition or on medications to see if this is safe for you. 

Having cold sores is no fun.  Nonetheless, if it happens to you and those drugstore remedies aren’t doing much to end this misery, what I shared is worth trying because it did help me.  Take care and I promise that you’ll be smiling with a pretty mouth again in no time!

Grow Your Own Herbs and Make Herbal Tea

Every year I plant a garden, I find the wildlife in my neighborhood get more of my crops than our family.  Fortunately, the deer and ground hogs do not care for herbs for some strange reason.  In fact, I planted more herbs this year than last since I do not have an electric fence or fierce dog that can scare those beasts. 

The herbs that I grew to make my herbal teas are lemon balm and a variety of mints.   I do grow sage, which some use for herbal teas, however, I never tried this in tea, only in cooking.

All you need is to clean your fresh herbs thoroughly first before putting on some water to boil.  Do not add these herbs directly to the pot.  I just pour boiling water over about one heaping teaspoon of the fresh herb.  However, you can use more or less of your herb to suit your taste. 

Let this herb steep for about fifteen minutes in your cup that you cover with a saucer.  This amount of time is ideal for the flavor to properly bloom in your cup.

If you use dried herbs for your tea, then you used only one-fourth of the amount as you want with fresh.  Again, the amount you use will depend on your own tastebuds.

Another method for making tea with your herbs is to pour one pint of boiling water over approximately one ounce of the fresh leaves.  When making a brew this way, I let this mixture seep for about ten minutes.  

Lemon balm is excellent to drink when suffering from colds.  I love growing mints for the different things they can help relieve as well.  Peppermint tea is a wonderful aid for when you feel nauseated or heat exhaustion.  Other varieties are spearmint grow abundantly in my garden and produces a nice flavor tea.

You also use an earthenware teapot.  I usually throw a handful of mint in before adding the boiling water and covering.  Again, let your tea seep for ten but preferably fifteen minutes.  You'll love the beautiful fragrance that is released once this brew seeps.