Be Protective against Cold Sores
Cold sores are uncomfortable fluid-filled blisters that appear on the lip or the corners of your mouth. They are caused by an infection with the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). This virus can stay in your spine for a while and trigger cold sores when your immune system is weakened.
For a long time, people have relied on lysine in the treatment of cold sores. Studies on the effectiveness of lysine as a cold sore treatment are inconsistent, but most people who used this nutrient to treat cold sores have described it as being effective.
A study [1] found that 26 people prone to recurrent cold sores experienced fewer cold sores after taking daily supplements of 1000 mg of lysine. The study found that the incidence of cold sores reduced when blood levels of lysine were kept above 165 mol/l. This effect was lost when lysine blood levels dropped below this and cold sore outbreaks increased.
Another study [2] found that topical application of lysine in a mixture with other herbs, vitamins, and zinc, was effective in treating cold sores. Cold sores usually last around 21 days but it cleared the sores in 40 percent of the participants within three days. By the sixth day, this had increased to 87 percent.
Not all studies corroborate the effectiveness [3] of lysine as a treatment for cold sores and more research is needed to establish how it works in the treatment of cold sores.