Take a look at some of the more commonly used cold sore treatments that are popular right now. Please understand these are just my opinions made from personal observations. In no way should this information take the place of your personal health care provider.
Campho-Phenique: Camphorated phenol is the active ingredient, which primarily is a pain reliever and will keep bacterial infection out. There are several formulas now. One contains petroleum jelly to keep the scab soft, which greatly reduces the pain of the scab cracking when you move your lips. This has been around for many years and has been a blessing to millions of folks. One of the oldest cold sore treatments.
Novitra: A zinc-based salve using zinc sulfate. Zinc has long been known as the healing mineral. Zinc sulfate is a good choice. Zinc sulfate is more readily absorbed into the sore and cells than most forms of zinc. This is not the total answer. But it does help the healing process, dries up the sore and helps kill the virus. A very good product but it is costly. There is no temporary pain relief so it might be best used along with a pain relief product, like mentioned above.
There is another form of zinc that I like - zinc gluconate. This form of zinc is the base of a product called "Zicam". It comes in a gel form that is absorbed in seconds through the mucus membrane of the nose. Works great for head colds and you can put it directly on cold sores at any stage. And, it's about half the price of Novitra. They do not yet market their products as cold sore treatments.
Abreva: The active ingredient is docosanol. Docosanol stops the cold sores from getting any bigger by forming a protective barrier around the healthy cells surrounding the cold sores. Works well in limiting size of cold sores if you catch it early. But, by the time the cold sore blossoms, the damage is already done. A healing cold sore treatment is what you need now. Abreva makers recently paid a million dollars in a court settlement regarding false claims for this product. The studies I've seen show Abreva will shorten the cold sores event by two or three days. I've seen as good or better results just applying ice as a herpes cold sore treatment.
Releev: This cold sore treatment is based on the active ingredient benzalkonium chloride. The primary function of this chemical is antiseptic. It will cleanse and dry up cold sores. Seems to work quite well. Makers claim that this cold sore treatment is able to reduce cold sore symptoms with just one day of treatment. Maybe it does for some people, but I haven't seen it. Do not use it if you have an allergy to the daisy flower family Do not use if you are pregnant or nursing. Would make me nervous using on kids too. There are better cold sore treatments.
Zilactin: A cold sore gel that forms a protective film over the cold sore. This is actually a very good idea. It also contains a pain-relieving ingredient called "benzyl alcohol" which gives you about three hours of peace. Also contains boric acid and salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is related to aspirin. Salicylic acid normally is irritating to the skin so I question the value here. It could make the sore worse. Also, if you have an aspirin allergy - don't use.
Lysine salves: A variety of cold sore salves available in drug and vitamin stores contain lysine. Lysine has a reputation for preventing cold sores and other forms of herpes sores. Studies show this to be true when taken internally. It helps keep you pH normal. Using lysine placed directly on the cold sore has not been very successful, from my personal observance. I would much rather see you try the zinc products mentioned above.
New cold sore treatments are coming out all the time. The market is huge for these products, since nearly nine out of ten people in the world carry the cold sore virus. Medical science has yet to solve this problem, but they are working hard at it.
Right now you will find that natural science is still your best solution to the age-old cold sore problem. Natural home remedies still prove to be the safest, cheapest and most effective cold sore treatments.
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 a hot topic right now. We are seeing more and more proof every day for successfully using lysine for cold sores. How does lysine work for cold sores, fever blisters and oral herpes? What is the best way to use it? Great questions. But, prior to using lysine for cold sores, it is best to know as much as possible about how a cold sore is created. Herpes simplex virus is the root cause of all oral herpes outbreaks. Some call them cold sores or fever blisters but they are both identical oral herpes events. An extremely contagious virus, it currently infects about 89% of humans around the world. The majority of these people catch the herpes simplex virus before 12 years of age. 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. The herpes simplex virus, because it lives in your nerve cells, can quickly sense a change in your immunity. If so, it will activate to replicate. Stress is the primary trigger that brings on a cold sore event. 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. The herpes simplex virus then compels the cell to build new virus. The cell eventually swells and explodes. Then millions of highly contagious virus particles cascade out. Your open cold sore is caused by this destruction of millions of adjacent cells. Arginine, an amino acid, is the main ingredient your cells need to create this new herpes virus. Arginine is a common protein found in many foods. Chocolate and nuts are quite rich in this protein. Your cells will store arginine in a specific spot within the cell membrane. 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 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. 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. 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. But, modifying your way of eating for the sake of fighting cold sore, fever blister or oral herpes outbreaks is usually not convenient or fun. I prefer lysine supplements. They are easy to find, quite cheap and convenient. 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 very safe. Commonly people take 1000 to 4000 milligrams per day during a cold sore and 500 to 1000 milligrams daily as a preventative measure. Again, you can adjust this depending on how often you get them. But, this is where lysine is misunderstood. 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 the more proven and convenient cold sore remedies that you should be using. There is much more I could share about lysine for cold sores and several other good cold sore remedies that honestly work. Unfortunately there is not enough 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.
Denny Bodoh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Herpes Cure, Yoga and Health. Denny Bodoh is a 35-year dedicated natural health research writer. Get the latest facts on and amazing. Denny Bodoh's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.