How to Get Rid of Herpes: Essential Oils + Supplements to Put Herpes in Remission (original) (raw)

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How to Get Rid of Herpes Symptoms Naturally

September 2, 2016

How to get rid of herpes - Dr. Axe

Herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), prompting many to wonder how to get rid of herpes naturally.

The herpes virus can live dormant inside a person’s immune system for a lifetime, periodically causing blisters that burst and turn into open cold sores or ulcers before healing. When left alone, herpes cold sores usually last about 10–14 days and are uncomfortable for a variety of reasons — causing redness, pain, burning and often embarrassment.

Many people wonder if there is a natural cure for herpes or are looking for ways on how to get rid of herpes for good. While technically the virus that causes herpes (whether on the mouth or genital herpes) is not curable, there are many natural herpes remedies that can put herpes into remission. (1) In fact, many people with herpes don’t experience any symptoms at all, especially long term, once they learn to manage triggers of outbreaks. So while there’s no guide for how to get rid of herpes naturally, there is a method for how to get rid of herpes symptoms the natural way and keep breakouts at bay.

By boosting the immune system through a healthy diet, making lifestyle changes and being cautious during periods of active breakouts, you can help keep any virus dormant, including herpes. Certain steps can significantly reduce the chances of having having reoccurring herpes symptoms and lower the risk that you’ll pass the virus to someone else. So if you’re wondering how to get rid of herpes, read on to learn the natural ways to keep this virus dormant.


What Is Herpes?

Herpes, whether on the mouth or genitals, is caused by a family of over 70 related viruses. These viral infections cause small, fluid-filled blisters to develop on the skin and mucous membranes. There are actually eight different types of herpes simplex viruses that both children and adults can acquire, but two are by far the most common: HSV-1 and HSV-2.

The most common reason that people develop cold sores on their mouths is due to becoming infected with HSV-1. (4) HSV-1 usually causes cold sore breakouts around the lips or mouth, or what some people describe as “**fever blisters**.” Someone can become infected with HSV-1 starting as a child, and then the virus can lay dormant in the body until the immune system is weakened, at which point symptoms can surface.

HSV-2 is commonly referred to as genital herpes because it usually causes cold sores to erupt around the genitalia. In fact, genital herpes is the No. 1 cause of genital ulcers worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and affects up to 1 in 3 adults (although most who are infected don’t even know it). (5) Both types of herpes viruses are highly contagious, and both can cause cold sores in either area of the body (or sometimes both).


Herpes Symptoms and Signs

In order to diagnose herpes, a health care provider can swab an area of visibly active herpes infection or, if symptoms aren’t active, a blood test can be given that measures the number of herpes antibodies present in the body. The antibodies don’t indicate herpes itself, but rather show the immune system’s response to the presence of the virus in the body. It’s important to note that sometimes a swab can give false negative results since herpes lesions need to be large enough to yield enough detectable virus and if the outbreak is already healing it also may not be detected in a swab. (6)

The most common herpes symptoms include:


Herpes Causes and Risk Factors

Causes of herpes include acquiring the virus through sexual contact, coupled with immune system suppression and sometimes nutritional deficiencies.

Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections are acquired from direct contact with someone who carries the virus. The infectious secretions that pass on HSV-1 or HSV-2 live on oral, genital or anal mucosal surfaces. They’re passed through skin-to-skin transmission, and any form of direct contact with sores on the mouth, buttocks or genitals can cause the virus to be passed.

HSV-1 is primarily transmitted by oral-oral contact. On the other hand, HSV-2 (or genital herpes) is considered a sexually transmitted disease and usually passed during oral or vaginal sex.

A scary finding is that more cases of genital herpes than ever before are now being caused by HSV-1 (the type most people assume only causes mouth sores), and about 85 percent of people with genital herpes don’t even know it. (7) Studies show that about 50 percent of the new genital herpes infections in young adults are due to HSV-1 and about 40 percent in older adults. The fact that most people don’t ever find out they’re infected is one of the reasons that transmission rates are steadily climbing.

Risk factors for acquiring herpes include: (8)


How to Get Rid of Herpes the Conventional Way

For most people with herpes, the virus typically represents nothing more than an inconvenience — however, the real risk is for immuno-compromised patients who can’t easily manage infections. In these patients, such as those with HIV/AIDS, herpes simplex infection is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. (9)

As of 2017, there is not currently a herpes vaccine available to prevent HSV-1 or HSV-2. (There is a vaccine available for another virus, herpes zoster; however, despite the similar name, it actually refers to the shingles virus. And, in fact, shingles occurs due to the reactivation of yet another virus, varicella zoster, which causes chicken pox.)

Doctors sometimes prescribe medications to help keep the herpes virus suppressed or to speed up healing of cold sores by reducing bacteria that can cause infections. Some medications that are now used to control herpes include:

However, it’s important to understand that even with early detection and prescription medications, either form of the herpes virus cannot be totally cured — so transmission is always still possible. Medications for viruses don’t always work long term and are not a cure-all.

The good news is that the first cold sores you experience from either HSV virus will most likely be the worst, and then you can expect immunity against the virus to usually improve over time. You can speed up this tolerance to the virus through making lifestyle changes, as well as becoming educated about safe sex and limiting the risk of transmitting the virus. So if you want to get rid of herpes symptoms, you can do it naturally.


How to Get Rid of Herpes Naturally

Not every person with a herpes infection actually experiences breakouts of cold sores throughout his or her lifetime or even after initially becoming infected. How often someone has a herpes cold sore outbreak, how severe the outbreaks are, how contagious someone is after infection and how long the sores take to heal all depend on someone’s individual immune response.

1. Boost Nutrient Intake

If you’re going to keep the herpes virus from frequently causing outbreaks, the first step in how to get rid of herpes is to improve immune function by boosting nutrient intake. Include these healing foods in your diet to keep the virus dormant as much as possible:

2. Avoid Inflammatory Foods

Certain foods can raise inflammation, weaken immune defenses and make skin irritation even worse. Avoid the following foods as much as possible to limit outbreak severity and duration.

3. Consider Supplements

4. Try Essential Oils

Essential oils that can help treat herpes include clove oil, tea tree oil and myrrh oil. Tea tree oil is one of the most common oils used on the skin for its natural antiviral, antibacterial properties. (3) Simply apply these essential oils three times daily to areas where cold sores are present, being careful to use a very small amount (only one to three drops). If you have sensitive skin, try mixing the essential oils with a carrier oil to dilute their strength a bit, including jojoba or coconut oil.

If cold sores or canker sores frequently develop on your lips or inside your mouth, you can apply my Homemade Lavender Mint Lip Balm often to reduce their occurrence or my Homemade Canker Sore Remedy and Mouth Rinse.

5. Ease Cold Sore Pain Naturally

If you develop herpes cold sores on your mouth or genitals, there are several ways you can help lower pain and improve healing. Here’s how to get rid of herpes symptoms, irritation and pain:


Facts and Statistics About Herpes


Precautions on How to Get Rid of Herpes

When a herpes outbreak occurs, you can expect cold sores to take about 10–14 days to heal on average. During this time period, the virus is considered to be active, and you should be very careful to avoid direct contact between a sore and someone else. If after trying the natural remedies for herpes described above you still experience frequent recurrences, talk to your doctor for how to get rid of herpes symptoms. Sometimes immunity is suppressed due to another infection or virus, or even as a side effect of taking some medications, so be sure to rule these causes out.

If a cold sore becomes very inflamed and causes pus to form, it might be infected. Talk to your doctor if the situation becomes severe and painful, especially if it’s your first outbreak and you want to be sure there’s not another cause for your sores.


Key Points: How to Get Rid of Herpes