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Many folks eat high lysine foods prior to or during a cold sore event, and avoid high arginine foods. For many folks, healing cold sores fast has been as simple as taking 1,000 milligrams to 3,000 milligrams of lysine in capsule supplements during an outbreak. High lysine foods to eat are most meats and dairy products.
I've tried Blistex, carmax, chapstick, and every other lip balm, plus Vaseline. All of them soothe but do not make the redness or bumps go away. These are not cold sores. I saw a doctor when this first happened over a year ago, and she said it could be an allergy to my toothpaste, and suggested baking soda for brushing.