Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
Logo for the Ask a Healer Wellness Library

How to Minimize Herpes Outbreaks
Natural Approach to Pain Relief and Healing

open letter to monsanto, dupont, sygenta > Schwab natural vs. prescription herpes remedies > dating and herpes

Ask A Healer HSV-1 and HSV-2 Articles

Minimize Herpes Outbreaks - Pain Relief Tips

by Ask a Healer

Suggested Support:
Dating When You Have Herpes

Herpes-Related Health Complications

Please note that nothing on this page is intended as a substitution for needed medical care. You should see your doctor to make sure that you have herpes and to learn more about managing herpes in addition to researching on the internet. What is provided here are helpful suggestions that may lessen the pain of a herpes outbreak, lessen the severity or fortify your body against future outbreaks. The best time to use any herpes remedy, whether it's a natural antiviral or a prescription medication, is at very first sign of outbreak. This is the predomal period where there may be itching and warmth in the outbreak area but no visible outbreak yet.

Chill out vs. Freak Out - Stress Reduction - A Potent Antiherpetic - Given the nature of a herpes infection, it's hard to stay out of stress response when you feel an outbreak coming on but it's vital because of the impact stress has on your immune system response. Worrying about an outbreak can actually help to bring one on. Keeping stress under control on a daily basis is one of the best things you can do to reduce outbreak recurrence.

Find effective stress reduction therapies that work for you and stick to using them on a regular basis. Stress reduction therapies include meditation, yoga, biofeedback, and counseling. Stress-reducing activities include watching a good comedy, reading a good book, being in natural environments like the mountains, beach or creekside and listening to restful music.

Drink Kombucha!
Organic, raw kombucha is one of the best immune system builders in the world and can help, with regular use, to protect your system from herpes outbreaks and the suffering they cause. Definitely look for organic, raw kombucha. If it's not organic and raw, it is not going to do the job. There is a company called gtskombucha that makes it. Try their website for stores near you: gtskombucha dot com

Ice to Slow Down Virus Replication.
The severity of a herpes outbreak may be minimized if the area is iced for a time, as soon as possible. If you can catch it at the predome level, you may even be able to head off a herpes outbreak using ice. The predome is that period just before the actual outbreak where a lot of people feel tingling or pain at the outbreak site, a feeling of soreness in that area, or fatique such as the coming on of the flu. There may also be heat in the outbreak area during the predomal period even days in advance of actual herpes lesions appearing. Using ice can help with the pain of a herpes infection too, in addition to reducing occurrence of outbreak but don't leave ice directly on the skin for long periods of time.

Anti-Viral Essential Oils to fight herpes virus
Many essential oils, if pure and potent rather than poorly processed aromatherapy blends, can provide your immune system with the equivalent of a swat team against herpes. They are extremely potent. Quality counts with essential oils. It is important that EO's be 100 percent pure because additives can actually irritate the area of a herpes outbreak. Don't worsen your outbreak with cheaper oils that may contain irritating fillers or fragrance!

Some pure essential oils known to be anti-viral include tea tree oil and peppermint oil. Tea tree oil, applied during predome, is like putting a guard at the door. Peppermint oil can provide wonderful pain relief, especially if mixed with lavender. If tea tree oil or peppermint are too strong to apply neat (if they cause burning or discomfort), dilute them with a bit of oil.

Please note: Oils should not be used if there is fever at the site. However, they can still be used on groin lymph node areas in the case of genital outbreaks or in the lymph node areas of the neck in oral outbreak situations, if your doctor approves such use. In those cases, ask your doctor about either icing down the sites and taking aspirin for fever, until the site is fever-free or discuss the use topical use of aloe vera juice or vitamin e gel.

You may either buy your own oils and dilute with some carrier oil, such as olive oil. If you choose to buy your own essential oils and make your own anti-herpetic blend (and your doctor agrees to the self-treatment steps) one of the best online sources I've found for organic, properly tested essential oils (this is important because using adulterated oils may actually cause further irritation and we sure don't want that, do we?)

These are just a few health tips for better handling a herpes outbreak. Please search the wellness library for much more information on herpes simplex, cold sores, and other related health challenges. If you've been infected with herpes for a while and you are still only aware of what was available a few years ago to reduce herpes outbreaks and relieve herpes pain, then educate yourself!

If you have just recently contracted herpes, know that you have a great deal of help available now that you would not have had years ago so take hope in that truth! Ask a Healer Wellness Library is a great place to educate yourself. Be sure you check each page and discern which treatment is right for you because not every treatment is right for every person. Your body knows what it needs. You'll find the right help here. A few suggestions:

Antiviral blend for herpes ===>>> FDA-approved drugs vs. natural antivirals ===>>> Cold Sore Relief