Lysine is one of the many essential amino acids required for growth and development of our body and it’s vital to maintain your nitrogen equilibrium within your body. The human body cannot make this essential acid on its own hence it is obtained via food or by way of dietary supplements. Apart from other benefits, Lysine supplements are also commonly used for the treatment of herpes and cold sores.

To better understand how lysine is effective against herpes and cold sores, we must first develop an understanding about two amino acids; lysine and arginine.

Arginine is an amino acid that is required by the herpes simplex virus to reproduce and cause symptoms. Lysine on the other hand works on reducing the outbreaks and healing the infection. This has been established through a help of an experiment. It was discovered that when Arginine was added to isolated viruses of herpes, the viruses multiplied. However, adding lysine inhibited multiplication of these viruses. Studies show that lysine represses the activity of arginine, an amino acid essential for herpes virus replication. That is why taking lysine supplements are a popular way of treatment for both herpes and cold sore.

For Herpes

Herpes are caused by a virus called herpes simplex or HSV virus. Herpes infection can result in cold sores on the lips and in the mouth. Genital herpes results in cold sores on genitals, buttocks, thighs or abdomen. The conventional treatment for herpes is oral prescriptions of drugs. These medications at their most shorten the span of virus activity but are not the cure for it. Another drawback of these non-curative
treatments are that they may get expensive when taken daily.

Studies have proven that lysine is a very effective treatment against herpes, both when taken in diet and when applied tropically. By taking daily supplements of lysine you can effectively reduce the frequency and severity of herpes.

For Cold Sores

Cold sores and herpes have many things in common but major differences do exist. Cold sores are caused by the virus called herpes simplex 1 or HSV1. Cold sores show up mostly on the face and are typically spread through contact such as kissing, sharing utensils or using the same linens. The good news is that lysine is just as effective for cold sores as it is for herpes. It is effective when eaten and also when applied on the cold sores as a cream.

Reviews

Amazon

Lysine has great reviews from Amazon users and is at a rating of 4.9/5. The users all seem to love the product and its ability to shorten the duration of their ailment.

CVS

CVS has given lysine supplement a rating of 5/5.

Walgreens

With a rating of 5/5, the Walgreens’ lysine supplements customers are very satisfied with the effectiveness of the product.

Walmart

With an average rating of 4.7/5, walmart too has many customers who said goodbye to their herpes problem using lysine. One of the customer claims that she has been taking 1000mg lysine supplements for a year and hasn’t had a breakout since then.