Lysine for Cold Sores - Good Remedy for a Bad Cold Sore

Lysine and cold sores? A great remedy if you use it the right way. If you will let me, I would like to share with you the right and wrong way to use lysine for cold sores.

Lysine for cold sores is much talked about these days. The truth is - lab and empirical data strongly support the use of lysine for cold sores.

How does cold sore lysine fix and prevent oral herpes cold sore outbreaks? What is the correct way to use it?

These are very good questions.

However, it is important to know what actually creates the cold sore before using lysine for cold sores.

The primary cause of all cold sore events is the herpes simplex virus. Whether you call them cold sores, fever blisters, or oral herpes outbreaks, they are all the same thing.

This very contagious parasite virus inhabits 9 out of 10 people throughout the world. Most of these folks caught the virus before their twelfth birthday.

For most of your life, the herpes virus is hiding in the nerve roots. For facial sores, the virus resides behind the ear, in the nerve ganglia. If the virus stays latent, you will never experience a cold sore.

If the herpes simplex virus senses a weakening of your immune system, it may become active - wanting to create new virus. Stress, both physical and mental, is usually what triggers this chain of events.

The herpes cold sore virus wiggles its way to the surface along the nerve fibers. Once there, each virus chooses a nerve cell, enters it and takes control.

The cold sore virus then makes the cell create new virus copies. Once the cell is filled to capacity, it bursts open and the new virus gushes out, looking for a home.

The gaping cold sore ulcer is the result of millions of destroyed cells.

Arginine is an amino acid (protein) that is the main protein needed to create the herpes simplex virus. Chocolate and nuts are particularly rich in arginine, and it is found in lesser amounts in many other foods.

Your cells have a specific area within the cell for storing amino acids such as arginine.

Lysine is another essential amino acid - commonly found in fish and most dairy products. This is one protein that cannot be used to construct new herpes viruses. In fact, it is like putting water on a fire.

Lysine and arginine share the same storage area in your cells. The more lysine you put in storage, the less room for arginine.

Reducing your arginine supplies by increasing lysine intake is a trick many folks use to stop herpes virus activity and support quick healing. It can also prevent future cold sore events by starving the herpes virus of the fuel it needs.

Lysine and arginine fight each other. Increase lysine in your diet with vegetables, fish and dairy products. Decrease arginine in your diet by leaving out arginine foods such as chocolate, nuts and grains.

Adjusting your eating habits to control oral herpes, cold sore or fever blister attacks is not usually much fun. Most folks prefer lysine in capsules for the bulk of their treatment. This amino acid is inexpensive and you can find it anywhere.

Lysine supplements are usually 500-milligram capsules. They allow you to adjust the amount you get each day based on what works best for you. And when you want to eat some chocolate, you can take extra lysine.

Two to five grams (2000 to 5000 milligrams) is a common dosage during an oral herpes cold sore outbreak. Between sores, folks take 500 to 1000 milligrams per day as prevention maintenance.

But, this is where you need to be careful.

Lysine for cold sores is awesome when taken as an internal remedy. But it has not been very effective when put directly on the sore.

At the store there are cold sore remedies - salves containing lysine - designed to put directly on the sore. Lysine works inside the cells. It does not absorb well when placed on the surface. Do not waste your money.

Lysine for cold sores is one of several really good cold sore remedies that you will find useful.

There is much more you should know about lysine for cold sores - and other great cold sore remedies. But, there is just not enough room to cover it all in this one article.

Whether you want to shorten the duration or to prevent future outbreaks, lysine is powerful medicine. But, keep this in mind. There are several other excellent cold sore remedies for you to try - that may work even better for you than lysine for cold sores.

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