How To Prevent Cold Sores

I used to suffer from cold sores, horrible cold sores affecting my mouth, eyelids, and other areas of my face. Wasn't pretty.

BUT not anymore. Now I occasionally have a tiny pimple somewhere on my lip but it's so undetectable that absolutely no one can tell that I am having a cold sore. I don't feel it either. I can upload a pic of my lips with three cold sores on it that I took a few months back... but you won't see anything :)

What did I do?

I eat plain yogurt every day. Lysine has been proven to prevent cold sores, and yogurt contains lots of lysine.

Ever since I've started eating plain yogurt on a regular basis (a portion in the morning before going to work, and a portion at night), I have NEVER had a cold sore; it has been a year already (before I did the yogurt diet, I used to have an outbreak about every two to three months, for many years).

That's a whole year free of cold sores. Ain't that marvelous? It is, and it's nice to be able to flaunt healthy natural lips every day, a pleasure taken for granted by those lucky people who suffer not from cold sores!

For those who do suffer from cold sores, start eating plain yogurt!

What to Avoid 

I have also cut out a lot of things from my diet that I noticed actually cause a cold sore outbreak for me. Here they are:

• Processed sugar (hence, the plain yogurt—I practically don't eat anything with processed sugar in it. A life without sugar sounds horrible, I know, but not as horrible as having a cold sore on my face.)
• Chocolate (this was hard, too...)
• Citrus fruit
• Grapes
• Alcohol
• Nuts
• Some soft-shell seafoods

Also something which I don't consume but can trigger cold sores as well:

• Caffeine

Good Foods That Fight Off Cold Sores

There are a lot of delicious foods rich in lysine, which I will devour at every occasion:

• Pineapple
• Avocado
• Cheese
• Apple
• Pear
• Salmon

You can find a list of many more lysine-rich foods in the following websites: Traditional Oven or Herpes.com

Moreover, as soon as I am feeling a light tingle or if I notice that I have a tiny pimple around my lips or eyelids, I will increase the quantity and frequency of my yogurt portions, i.e. add a big portion in the afternoon—and the pimple/tingling will go away within a day.

Helping Yourself and Others

To prevent spreading the virus, it is very important that you let people know when you are having a cold sore (at least the people you are in close contact with). I am very careful when I know I have one; I don't touch the cold sore, and I don't touch other people. The fact that my cold sores are practically invisible makes it all the more dangerous because there would be no suspicion of a herpes outbreak... although I know the cold sore is there. So although I am shedding less quantities of virus than if I were having an oozing open sore, I do not take any risks and abstain from any physical contact with anyone—this includes hugging, shaking hands, etc.

Most importantly, don't touch your cold sores, don't touch your face, and wash your hands frequently.

About Antibiotics

You can rely on antibiotics to appease the symptoms of a cold sore or to try to stop an upcoming outbreak when you feel one coming up... But antibiotics only render your immune system lazy, thus more prone to more infections in the future. Yogurt, on the other hand, contains lysine and beneficial bacteria that activate your body's natural immune system, allowing it to fight off cold sores effectively without the use of chemicals that end up weakening you in the long term.

A Placebo Effect?

The yogurt working for me could just be a placebo effect (if it is, well I'm happy) but I have tried many, many other remedies that I've heard/read about (including prescription drugs e.g. Acyclovir pills) with the certitude and high hopes that every time it would zap my cold sores away... But none of those will prevent cold sore outbreaks as long as trigger foods are being consumed.

Up to this day, yogurt is the only thing that has efficiently helped me control cold sore outbreaks. I conclude it is the yogurt that has been helping me, because I have started eating A LOT of it and ever since I have seen a lot less signs of cold sores. When I don't eat yogurt for a few days, I will have a cold sore. And whenever I start munching on sweets, or nuts, or citrus fruit, I will have a cold sore within hours or days.

Give It A Try

I didn't want to make this article too long about lysine and its correlation with cold sores and about why some foods trigger cold sores more than others; there is already plenty of information about all these topics available on the Internet.

I just want to share my experience about how I am now cold-sore-free for more than a year. I hope others will try regulating their diets to see if it can solve their cold sore problems as well. Give it a try— you've only got good habits to win, and cold sores to lose.

Whatever your means, I hope it works out.

Devon Avery