Lysine for Cold Sores - How To Correctly Treat a Cold Sore

Published July 31st, 2008

by Denny Bodoh

Lysine and cold sores are enemies. Read this article now. You will finally know what works and what does not when using lysine for cold sores.

Lysine for cold sores is in the news a lot. You will find that empirical evidence strongly suggest the power and effectiveness of using lysine for cold sores.

Why can lysine stop cold sore, fever blister or oral herpes outbreaks? How do I use it for best results?

Great questions.

But before we look at the use of lysine for cold sores, we should first understand the actual cause of a cold sore.

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.

Herpes virus moves to the surface through the set of nerve fibers that it has chosen to occupy. At the surface, each virus particle picks out a nerve cell to enter.

Each virus then forces that cell to act as a virus factory and construct herpes virus clones. When the cell is swollen with fresh virus, it is destroyed to free the new virus.

Your open cold sore is caused by this destruction of millions of adjacent 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 special area to store proteins, such as arginine, inside the cell.

Lysine is also an essential amino acid. Dairy and fish are good sources of lysine. New herpes virus can not be created using lysine. It is like putting water in your gas tank.

Lysine is stored in the same area as arginine in your cells. And, the more lysine your cells put away, the less room it has for arginine.

You can easily lower the cell’s arginine supply by raising lysine intake. This is a tactic many people use to stop the progression of a cold sore and prevent future oral herpes outbreaks. You are, in affect, starving out the virus.

You can improve your intake of lysine by eating more vegetables, cheese, yogurt and fish. For best results, you may also have to lower your intake of arginine foods such as nuts and chocolate.

The trouble is, changing your diet as a way to stop cold sores, fever blisters or oral herpes is not always practical. The best bet for most people are lysine capsules or tablets. They are quite cheap and available everywhere.

With lysine capsules, you can change your intake based on your need. And you often do not have to give up the foods you love, such as chocolate or nuts.

Lysine is one of many common proteins and is quite safe. To treat a cold sore, dosages of 2000 to 4000 milligrams daily are the norm. Many people take 500 milligrams per day to help prevent future oral herpes cold sore outbreaks.

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.

There are lysine salves on the market for use as cold sore remedies. Lysine must get into the cells to work. Lysine does not absorb through the skin. You must take it orally for good results.

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

I would like to give you a lot more tips about lysine for cold sores and some additional cold sore remedies that will super-charge your efforts, but I have run out of room here.

If you are a victim of long duration or frequent cold sore events, lysine is an excellent choice. But do not stop there. There are many other great cold sore remedies. You may find some will work even better for you than lysine for cold sores.

About the Author:

Hate cold sores? Be sure to read the FREE expert articles about Cold Sores at Denny Bodoh’s popular web-site. While there you will get a lot of amazing Cold Sore cures and treatment options you can use immediately.