Does ayahuasca cure herpes? Now that’s a good question. I know there are a lot of people doing Google searches and they aren’t finding a ton of information. There’s not a lot of scientific research on the health benefits of ayahuasca, but anyone who has worked with the medicine can tell you about the profound physical and emotional shifts that are possible. I’m not a medical doctor, so I’m just sharing my personal experience.
It is estimated that 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 (67% of the world’s population, 1 in 2 Americans) have the HSV-1 virus, or oral herpes. Less common, but I’m sure no less painful is HSV-2, or genital herpes. In this article, I’m speaking of HSV-1. In any case, if you have herpes, you know how miserable the outbreaks can be.
Prior to January 2019, I battled with severe cold sore outbreaks on my lips. I started getting outbreaks during my teenage years and they have followed me into my 30’s. My mom suffered terrible cold sores so I assumed it was genetic and/or it was passed from her to me somehow. They were generally triggered by exposure to the elements, including prolonged exposure to the sun and wind. I grew up skiing in the mountains and now live in a tropical ocean climate, so if I forgot to zinc-up, I’d run the risk of an outbreak. They also seemed to pop up anytime my immune system was slightly down.
I would get one about every six weeks. The peak eruption and pain period lasted about 5 days, and healing seemed to take another week and a half so by the time I had healed, another one was in the lineup. Not to mention the fact they were painful, but I was self-conscious and embarrassed by the large weeping wound on my face.
In January 2019, I went to an ayahuasca retreat center for eight days. I participated in three ayahuasca ceremonies and felt tremendous healing occur. One woman had an eye twitch that stopped after one of her ceremonies. My herpes had to wait for time to tell.
It’s now been a year since my retreat and yes, I do still have the herpes virus. However, I have only had three cold sore outbreaks during that time. One of them was during my intensive 300-hour shamanic energy medicine training in Chile, along with a bright red rash on my left cheek. Although I was practicing daily yoga and eating organic, clean food, I was assured by Alberto Villoldo that the reason for this outbreak was the extreme shifts of energy as I worked my way through personal healing.
When I faced these few outbreaks over the past year, I started using a combination of essential oils to speed up the healing process. I’ve tried everything under the sun over the years, from prescriptions to natural remedies, but the essential oils seemed to assist with stopping the outbreak and speeding up the healing process.
So the answer is, for me personally, no, ayahuasca did not cure my HSV-1 virus, or make it go away, since the three outbreaks I have had since then signify that I am still carrying the virus, but something profound did happen. I now seem to have a strengthened immune system, and/or I’m less vulnerable to the outbreaks.
Update July 2023: I have found that the best remedy for preventing cold sores has been adding a mixture of powdered mushrooms to my morning coffee. I use a mix of reishi, chaga, turkey tail, and lion’s mane. I don’t get cold sores anymore unless there is a combination of traveling and not taking my mushroom mix, excessively drinking alcohol, and getting sunburned. Make sure to do your research on mushroom companies as many products found on Amazon are not pure and you won’t get the same benefits. This is not an endorsement of these brands, but I use Real Mushrooms and Host Defense. Cutting out alcohol, reducing stress, avoiding vegetable/processed oils, and eating a clean diet are also going to tremendously help with keeping the underlying virus in check. It may not ever go away, but you can reduce the symptoms.
the healing benefits of essential oils
A concoction of essential oils to help the body heal. Read more about essential oils and their ability to heal cold sores.
Facing ayahuasca
After a terrifying experience, I stepped back up to the plate and sat with ayahuasca for a second round.