For Cold Sores Lysine Can Be Helpful

Cold sores plague many people in the world, and a method to prevent them or heal them quickly is always in high demand. Not only are cold sores painful, they are also highly contagious to others. In addition, they usually appear in a highly visible area--the face. There are many options to try in order to prevent cold sores, or heal them more quickly. There are creams and gels, many available by prescription. However, to prevent or treat outbreaks of the cold sores, lysine can be considered.

Lysine is an amino acid that can be bought as an oral supplement from health food stores, grocery stores or drugstores. The recommended daily allowance or RDA for lysine is 1.5 grams per day. For cold sores lysine can be a safe and effective method of ridding yourself of them. However, you need to be aware that excessive amounts of lysine can be dangerous to your body system. With high doses of lysine, you may experience gastrointestinal distress or kidney failure. It is always best to consult with your doctor if you have a compromised system to ensure that you will not cause any adverse effects to yourself. It is always best to be safe than sorry.

While it is rare, humans can be deficient in lysine. Symptoms that signal a deficiency in lysine are hair loss, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite and problems with growing and reproducing. If you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, see your doctor. It also may be helpful to ask your doctor if he believes that for the treatment of cold sores lysine can be helpful.

Lysine is essential to humans, meaning we have to have it for our body system to function properly. It is possible to obtain lysine from certain foods. Foods that contain lysine are cereal grains, fish and legumes. Dairy products also contain lysine. It certainly would not hurt you to regularly consume more cereal grains, fish and legumes. In fact, those exact foods are considered part of a healthy diet. However, for the treatment of cold sores lysine is probably best obtained through the use of oral supplements.

While it is true that for cold sores lysine can be helpful, you should err on the side of caution. To prevent herpes or cold sore outbreaks, you would need to take a very high dosage of lysine in order to experience any benefits. Unfortunately, taking such a high dosage on a regular basis can result in negative side effects that are probably not worth the benefits you can obtain regarding cold sores treatment.