Cold-sore gel
I suffer from cold sores on the lips and around the nose when I am run down, exposed to sunlight, or have a cold. Can you suggest anything I can use topically to prevent their increasing recurrence, especially at this time of the year?
Probably the best cold-sore gel in the natural marketplace currently is Viramedx Releev, which has been tested in University trials on 300 people in Chicago and shown to stop the herpes virus, which causes cold sores, in its tracks.
It costs £19.95 for a 6ml bottle (from Victoria Health, 0800-3898195) which should last several months and you need to apply it as soon as you feel the tell-tale tingle of a cold sore threatening. That said, because you say the sores are recurring at shorter intervals than before, you should also take steps to boost your body’s resistance internally too.
The most important supplement to take is lysine, an amino acid, which works to prevent another amino acid, called arginine, from triggering an attack. Arginine is present in a range of foods, from chocolate to brown rice, sesame seeds to wholewheat breads so if you are a sufferer, you need to cut down on these foods too.
Lysine, which is usually sold as L-lysine, is also present in foods including fish, milk, cheese, eggs and soy products but since many of these contain arginine too, increasing your dietary intake may backfire making supplementation a better solution.
The therapeutic dose you need is 3g a day, which you take in one hit and since this is a high dose, Lifetime’s L-lysine (available from Victoria Health) is excellent value at £9.95 for 100 x 1000mg tablets. Just take three a day.