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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.
If the sore has already erupted and is beginning to scab, use an over-the-counter medication like Abreva to help ease symptoms and reduce redness. Cold sores typically last 7 to 10 days, so it all depends on how early you catch and treat it, says Dr. Welsh. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex 1 virus and don't pop up unless something triggers them -- usually stress or overexposure to the sun.