What can i eat to heal cold sores?

Question

What can i eat to heal cold sores?

Answer 1

Vanessa,

It may help eating lysine rich foods, such as turkey, avocados, ricotta cheese, eggs and dark chocolate.

A recent study shows eating broccoli daily helps too.

But I think it would be best for you to try preventing cold sores from appearing in the first place.  

Answer 2

High lysine foods to eat are most meats and dairy products. Cheese, milk and yogurt are excellent. High arginine foods to avoid would be nuts, seeds, grains, and chocolate. You need to find your own personal balance here for healing cold sores.  

Answer 3

Cold sores tend to show up when our immune systems are weakened such as when we have a cold, when we are under a lot of stress, when we are dehydrated such as after spending to much time in the sun.   There is nothing you can eat that will heal cold sores.

Many of us already have the cold sore virus dormant in our bodies, and never have a flare up of cold sores.  We contracted it as children, as it is a very common virus, and children pick it up easily as they often share food and drinks, and may be less concerned about hand washing and hygiene.   Cold sores can be transmitted even when the person does not have a cold sore, though it is less likely to happen then.  

There is no over-the-counter medication or home remedy that cures cold sores.  Only time will take care of that.  But there is a good prescription medication for cold sores.  It will make them go away much faster, and as a result of taking this medication you will have far fewer outbreaks of cold sores.

The absolute best treatment for cold sores is a prescription medication in pill form called Valtrex.  It was intended for genital herpes, but cold sores are caused by the same family of viruses, and Valtrex stops colds sores in their tracks.  None of the other treatments come close to the effectiveness of Valtrex, not the ointment Zovirax, and certainly not Abreva or anything else.  Ask your doctor about it to see if you would be a good candidate for this medication.  My doctor prescribed it for me for cold sores about five years ago and after taking it only a couple of times I hardly ever get a cold sore any more, and before Valtrex I was having several attacks a year.  On the rare occasions that I do get one now, it is gone almost immediately when I take the medication - in about a day.    In the meantime, here are a couple of informative links.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-t...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/ach...

Answer 4

Well, to help make the cold sore go away make sure your getting at least the FDA Recommended amounts of Vitamins C, B, A, and E.  ( A simple google search for cold sore and vitamin will give you more information on why).  

Now I have to say I never vary my diet when I have a cold sore.  I do however break out the Carmex.   That has thus far been the best way to send them speedily on their way.    

It is important to note though that there is currently no cure for cold sores (Herpes Simplex 1/A), however there are plenty of ways to suppress the cold sores and help them go away quicker.   Also taking too much Vitamin C and B will just flush the excess from the body, and too much A and E could cause poisoning as they are fat soluble and build up in the body.  

Answer 5

Nothing much.

"Cold sores" are lesions caused by the herpes simplex virus. Yes, that's herpes... and yes, that's the same class of herpes you usually think about. And yes, you CAN get or give herpes by putting yourself in contact with other people's lips or genitals.

That said - about 25% of people aged 15-35 have herpes simplex, rising to about 75% of people by the time you reach 60. Mostly it stays dormant living in your spine or neck, and travels down to near the original point you were infected every so often to "breed" by making infectious sores. Yup, that's right, your cold sore is your virus reproductive cycle.

There is NO CURE for herpes. No vaccine. No herb. None. Once you have it, you have it for life. How often it goes into a reproductive cycle and makes a cold sore depends on a lot of stuff, including your genetics, immune system, and so on. Sometimes an allergy or other virus (e.g. a cold) will provoke it.

Putting antibacterial creams or whatever on cold sores is not only ineffective, your rubbing motion will actually help it spread on you - and possibly other people, depending on where you put your fingers after.

The supplement L-Lysine (it's an amino acid, or form of protein) has been shown to help reduce the number of times you "break out". L-Arginine supplements tend to increase it. But it's a very slight difference, not a magic pill.

Therefore foods high in L-Lysine will theoretically help, but you probably won't get an effective dose from eating food unless you ate a LOT of it, all the time. So - not practical.

As usual, keeping fit and healthy and having a good diet will help promote a strong immune system and therefore reduce your number of breakouts. But there's no magic recipe.