I recently spent three wonderful days backpacking at a high altitude, but neglected to use any sun/wind protection on my lips. One day later, 80% of my lower lip was chaffed, cracked, split, and a large fever blister had formed. Hardly what you’d consider a crisis, but considering it was four days before my wedding and I was required to “kiss the bride” (and be featured in photos that would be displayed forever), it constituted a minor medical emergency. The word “stupid” comes to mind, but I thought it was worth sharing the story in the hopes that it might be of some benefit to others. I’m also aware that this problem was a small drop in the ocean compared to bigger issues afoot, but sometimes it’s the little things. Please note that this is my unique experience and does not constitute medical advice. It’s simply the approach I chose to take.
Get informed
It seems everyone has strong opinions when it comes to handling complaints of a medical nature. My first task was to simply stay calm, set a clear objective (a perfectly healed lip in four days), and go about collecting and evaluating information coming from people, books, and the Web.
Back to basics
I immediately turned to the basics (cleansing and nutrition) and decided I would juice fast with SuperFood, and start on Intestinal Formula #1 and Intestinal Formula #2 every day. I’ve done a lot of fasting and cleansing in the past so this was an easy way to begin.
An orthodox approach
Meanwhile, we had a tip from another bride that there was a drug called Valtrex that would heal the cold sore within 24 hours but that it was only available via prescription. My loving bride and I agreed that it was worth trying almost anything to accomplish our objective. The last time I had seen a doctor was a decade ago to get a prescription for an organic mattress! However, I was hoping that modern medicine could produce a small miracle. It’s also worth noting that I’ve had fever blisters in the past and it’s one of the few health challenges I’ve yet to overcome.
Rather than explain the tedious details, I’m simply going to present a summary of my natural wellness vs. my orthodox medicine approach and conclude with the outcome. Note that I choose not to have medical insurance but that’s a topic for later discussion. Those with medical coverage would obviously pay less for orthodox medical care. Note also that I have not included sales tax, shipping, gas, time etc. into this equation.
Natural wellness approach and cost
I decided that I would purchase every natural product that my research indicated might help (a “better safe than sorry” approach) and then be guided by my intuition day by day as to what to take, how much, and when. As always with intuition, it’s difficult to validate, and interestingly, some of the items below I took large doses of for a day or two and then none for the remaining period. Another challenge was that the cold sore needed drying out while the other areas that were split and blistered needed moisture. I was fortunate enough to have a number of items on my shelf (including a homeopathy kit) and it was a good reminder to always keep some basics on hand.
$20 Intestinal Formula #1 – herbal colon cleanser.
$24 Intestinal Formula #2 – bowel cleanser and intestinal vacuum.
$36 SuperFood Plus – food/herbal based vitamin and mineral concentrate.
$9 Vitamin C - I was out of the food-based vitamin C but had some old ascorbic acid. I simply mixed this with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
$30 Echinacea – I used 1/3 of the bottle I had on hand in the first two days. I wish I had had more for the remaining days. There’s very few Echinacea brands that I find effective and none of them are available at local stores.
$34 St John’s Wort – well known to be good for treating cold sores. I happened to have a number of excellent brands on hand (Herbalist & Alchemist and Blessed Maine Herbs) and consumed two bottles in four days.
$8 Lysine – an amino acid well known for treating cold sores.
$26 Probiotic – Simply following my intuition, I took up to 10 first thing in the morning with a small amount of organic raw milk.
$12 Raw Nori Seaweed – additional source of B vitamins including B12.
$7 Licorice root – the licorice twigs you chew and then discard. I’d simply read it was beneficial.
$7 Mercurius Vivus – homeopathic remedy.
$7 Natrum Muriaticum – homeopathic remedy.
$11 Shea Butter – used continually for the last 24 hours once the fever blister had dried up.
$16 Organic Whole Ginger Root – for whatever reason it seemed appropriate to consume as much as possible. I made a smoothie (based on a liver cleanse recipe): a blend of fresh organic apple juice, distilled water, fresh organic ginger root, organic olive oil, and a clove of garlic. I consumed over 3 lbs. of ginger over four days.
$18 Organic Vegetables - for juicing, including a few cloves of garlic.
$0 Hands on Self-Healing - approx 2 hours (although I wish I had had time for more).
$0 Immune Homeopathic - my mother shared her immune-boosting homeopathic remedies with me. I simply added these to the pile.
Total Cost: $265
Orthodox medicine approach and cost
$130 (15 minute consultation) - Emergency Care Doctors visit. You know you’re in trouble when the first thing your doctor suggests is “makeup.” The list I walked away with (ordered as written): chakras/meditation/visualization, vitamin B complex & C, Lysine 4-6 grams/day, valtrex, chapstick, GNC products – topical/systemic. My doctor explained that the Valtrex may result in the fever blister improving one day sooner.
$150 valtrex - 12 pills (to be taken 3 per day until cold sore gone). Note, intuitively it felt appropriate to only take two pills per day for three days only (once the cold sore had dried up). Due to the cost, I purchased only enough pills to get to the wedding day.
$15 abreva – topical fever/cold sore blister treatment.
Total Cost: $295
Outcome in a nutshell
Bottom line: my lip was 85% better on the big day. A disappointing outcome based on the 100% objective, but each day saw a 20% improvement and perhaps another day would have done the trick. I stopped all treatment after the wedding and my lip was 100% healed with no sign that anything had happened 5 days later. Would I have done anything differently? I’d skip the doctor’s visit and medications due to cost vs. benefit and possible side effects. And no modern medicine miracle! Even though the cost was similar, the amount of nutrition by taking a natural approach was far superior and in my opinion provides long term benefit (even if it does require more effort than simply taking a few pills).
- Matthew, eZoetic.com Founder