kissing an individual having a fever blister/cold sore, or having unprotected sex with a person with genital herpes. However, they are different strains, which means you will not develop genital herpes by kissing somebody with a fever blister.

The bad news regarding the herpes simplex virus is the fact that once you have it, you can’t eliminate it. It will always be latent within your body, awaiting a minute when your immune system is low to strike you with a new outbreak. This can be sometimes of stress or when the immune system is busy dealing with another illness. The blisters around the mouth area are called ‘cold sores’ by many people because they often appear when you have just had a cold, flu or another virus.

But the good news is that you can often prevent outbreaks and become symptom-free. The easiest method to do this is to stay healthy, with a decent diet based around plenty of fruits and vegetables. Avoid stress by practising meditation and other stress reduction techniques.

You can get prescription drugs, but they don’t work for everybody. There are plenty of natural remedies that you could try, after taking appropriate medical advice. Here are some home remedies for herpes that might help to avoid sores forming.

- Lysine: this is an amino acid that has an important role in preventing herpes sores. It occurs naturally in the diet but can also be supplemented for short periods (e.g. you might start taking it when you feel yourself getting a flu-type illness).

Lysine seems to work by blocking arginine, another amino acid that feeds the herpes virus. You can help the body fight herpes all of the time by consuming more foods high in lysine (especially beans/legumes except for soy; also meat, fruit and vegetables) and avoiding foods that are high in arginine (e.g. chocolate, nuts, wheat, soy).

- Zinc - a mineral supplement that enhances the immune system has been shown to help control herpes in several studies. Be careful not to take an excessive amount of zinc, as it can be toxic in large quantities. Good with vitamin C, especially if you are feeling run-down.

- Licorice has anti-viral properties. Take licorice root tea regularly to keep outbreaks away.

- Many people say that if they apply lemon juice to the area when they first feel the tingling that comes before a blister around the mouth, the blister never develops. This is probably an effect of vitamin C and you might want to increase your vitamin C intake at the same time.

There are also several home remedies for herpes that you may want to use topically if you have an outbreak of sores:

- Zinc sulfate creams seem to help heal sores and stop them growing.

- Lemon balm (melissa) can act as an anti-viral against the herpes simplex virus. Look for lemon balm essential oil or a cream prepared from lemon balm/melissa extracts to treat sores. If using the essential oil, apply it with a clean Q-tip to prevent possible damage to surrounding skin.

- Tea tree oil and aloe vera juice are natural remedies that may help to heal all types of lesions, including fever blisters and genital herpes sores. home remedies for herpes