Cold Sore
A cold sore is a small, fluid-filled blister that typically appears on or around the lips and is caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Also known as: Herpes Simplex, HSV-1
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Research Articles
Published research studies are articles that present the findings of original research that has undergone a peer-review process and has been made publicly available in scholarly journals, books or other media.
Medical-Grade Honey Outperforms Conventional Treatments for Healing Cold Sores—A Clinical Study
2021 Dec 04 Pharmaceuticals Naik PP, Mossialos D, Wijk B, Novakova P, Wagener FADTG, Cremers NAJ
Randomised Controlled TrialMedical-grade honey outperforms conventional treatment in healing cold sores, reducing healing time and alleviating associated symptoms like pain and itching.
Inhibitory effects of baicalein against herpes simplex virus type 1
2020 Dec Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B Luo Z, Kuang XP, Zhou QQ, Yan CY, Li W, Gong HB, et al.
Our research indicates that baicalein is highly effective in combating HSV-1 infection.
Cold Sore
The Chinese herbal prescription JZ-1 induces autophagy to protect against herpes simplex Virus-2 in human vaginal epithelial cells by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway
2020 May Journal of Ethnopharmacology Shao Q, Liu T, Wang W, Duan Q, Liu T, Xu L, et al.
Our results showed that JZ-1 protects against HSV-2 infection, and this beneficial effect may be mediated by inducing autophagy via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling axis.
Cold SoreResearch Insights
Insights are moderated by the Research Hub team and offer an at-a-glance overview of interesting research findings.
Medical-grade honey outperforms conventional treatment in healing cold sores, reducing healing time and alleviating associated symptoms like pain and itching.
2021 Pharmaceuticals Medical-Grade Honey Outperforms Conventional Treatments for Healing Cold Sores—A Clinical Study Naik PP, Mossialos D, Wijk B, Novakova P, Wagener FADTG, Cremers NAJ
Randomised Controlled Trial
The methodology in this study involved a crossover trial with a group of 29 patients with recurrent cold sores. The majority of these patients experienced four or more episodes per year, so they served as their own control group. These patients applied a medical-grade honey product called L-Mesitran Soft to their cold sore either at the onset of symptoms or upon the appearance of the blister. After the healing process, they answered a questionnaire, assessing the effectiveness of the honey treatment based on healing time, pain, and itching level.
Researchers found that the average healing time was significantly less with the honey treatment in comparison to conventionally used treatments. The honey treatment led to faster healing in 86.2% of all patients and increased subjective healing score in 79.3% of the patients. Moreover, patients experiencing pain and itching with cold sores reported a reduction in these symptoms when treated with medical-grade honey. Additionally, all the patients expressed a preference for the honey treatment over conventional ones for future cold sores. This suggests the potential of MGH as a superior alternative treatment for cold sores.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that involve people and are conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new treatments or interventions, such as drugs, medical devices, or behavioural therapies.
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Medical-grade honey outperforms conventional treatment in healing cold sores, reducing healing time and alleviating associated symptoms like pain and itching.
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