Cold sores are unpleasant, ugly, contagious, and unbelievably painful sores. Some people experience tingling a few hours or even a couple of days before a break out. Others have breakouts that offer no warning at all.
Many cold sore sufferers try every home remedy they can find to clear up cold sores as quickly as possible. Home remedies range from helpful to harmful, with bleach being a commonly used home remedy that falls quite squarely into the latter category.
Cold Sore Basics
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, either type 1 or type 2. Studies suggest that the majority of cold sores are caused by the type 1 virus and the rest by type 2. It really makes no difference which type of the virus you’ve been infected with, the sores are equally unattractive, equally painful and equally contagious. Untreated sores from both virus types last an average of three weeks when untreated and can hang around as long as 24 days.
What a Cold Sore Treatment Should do
Basically, a good cold sore treatment should heal the sore, preferably killing the virus in the process and drying up the blister while it heals.
On the other hand, a good cold sore treatment will heal without causing discomfort or additional damage to your skin. Even a remedy that works is not much good if it causes more pain than the original problem or if it causes skin damage that takes even longer to heal.
NO BLEACH!
Which brings us to bleach. Lots of people do it, and it really does heal the blister and kill the virus. However, bleach can cause redness and swelling that can last for months. Many people would prefer a cold sore for a couple of weeks than many months of unsightly redness. The bottom line is bleach does work, but at a high price.
A safer choice is to apply a natural treatment like Block Herpes or Herdox. Don’t touch the blister, or you risk introducing bacteria that can cause infection. Also consider taking a multivitamin or at least extra vitamins B complex and C. B vitamins have been shown to lower stress, and stress is a common trigger for cold sores. Vitamin C is a good immune booster and can help your body keep the virus at bay.
5 Comments on “Bleach on cold sores”
I used Clorox on my lip blister but diluted enough to barely smell the bleach.. it helped of course. Strong concentration will have consequences.. I know they use few drops of bleach for kidney wash that’s what made me use it.
I have used bleach on cold sore for years. The second I feel one coming in I dip a q-tip in bleach and hold it on the cold sore for about a minute. The cold sore never full develops for me when I do this. I then continue putting bleach on the small sore 2 times a day until it’s done which usually takes about 5-7 days. I do get really dry lips by the time it’s all done however it never grows into this big ugly thing taking over my face. It’s barley even noticable. Maybe dillute the bleach with some water first if you’ve never used it.
…same here for me!
I have also been using bleech for cold sores today for fact I just used it n it started this afternoon so the thing is with bleech is doesn’t matter what kind it all works but don’t dilute it put it on straight with a qtip on first sight n leave it on it will burn a little and tingle at the same time make sure ur qtip is soaked in bleech not just a dab n I mix it with abreva everyday til it’s gone. So 1q-tip soaked in bleech,rub and blot ur infected area let dry completely n that means when it feels dry n stops tingling etc that’s when it’s dry n then after it’s dry put abreva on it up to 5 times a day. Within 3-5 days it will be gone depending on ur body’s healing time,vitamins etc. But that’s what works for me. Tis that time of year again..
That moment when you get that “itch” I immediately treat it. Dont wait for it to be visible and most importantly DONT SCRATCH!! When I dont have the proper treatment I dap a qtip in Clorox bleach and blot the cold sore 2-3 times a day until it dry out. About 5-7 days to cure..for me. If you have sensitive skin, dilute with water.