It starts out with a little tingle, and shortly after develops into a blistery-mound of pure yuck. And wah-lah! We have one of the ugliest things ever on our lips (besides a totally wrong shade of lipstick), it’s a cold sore from hell. It’s not like we can just schedule our appointments for our dates with cold sores, because no time is ever convenient. They’re embarrassing and one makes me want to crawl into a dark crevice somewhere until it’s gone. The thought of trying to pull it together with one on my lip and go somewhere in public almost gives me PTSD from my past bouts with the buggers.
What causes cold sores, and why do we get them? For me personally–I get them whenever I’m stressed, feeling run down, or at the on-set of a very nasty cold. I hate to say the H-word, but if you’ve ever been infected with the herpes simplex virus (Type 1), it lies dormant in your body waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a personal appearance. According to the Mayo Clinic–fever, menstruation, stress and exposure to the sun may trigger a recurrence.
Lovely. We all have some of those stressors about 99.99% of the time. About six weeks ago, I got completely fed up with cold sores ruining my days. I did a little poking around to see if there was something I could do about it, and a common suggestion on most of the sites I read was to apply a lysine cream and take oral supplements of lysine, zinc, and Vitamin C. I’ve been doing just that and so far, so good. But they sure make my tummy hurt! While all this cold sore chit-chat isn’t a substitute for medical advice, I will say that lysine has helped me in my battle against them.
Lip Clear Lysine+ Cold Sore Treatment has been clinically shown to speed healing time (compared to untreated cold sores) and is less expensive than some of the other products I’ve tried in the past. If you’re battling a cold sore, give it a shot. It contains hydrating and soothing ingredients to help lessen the discomfort. If you’re someone who battles them pretty frequently, I would also try the Super Lysine+ ColdStick SPF 21 in-between occurrences to help lessen the chances. Your best bets:
• Avoid sharing personal items
• Avoid triggers
• Use sunscreen
An editorial sample was provided by the company and evaluated to determine my opinion of the product in this post. Please see the Disclosures page for further information regarding my policies for using editorial samples.
