I had cold sores on the edge of my lips about 2 weeks ago. I went to the doctor and he gave me an antiviral cream. Wanting to get it healed quickly, i used it against my intuition that most prescription drugs are ineffective. It got worse and what started as a small spot had spread to a bigger area. I started reading the insert and learned there is a list of side effects including a discoloration of the skin which explained the black spot on where i applied the cream.
Fortunately, I met a friend, a fellow health nut who recommended and gave me some lysine supplement. Thankfully, it cleared up within a few days ! She reminded me about what i knew before about the imbalance of lysine and arginine that caused the herpes inflammation.
I learnt it the hard way the adage that the medical and pharmaceutical industry do not have our best interest in their practice.
A tube of the antiviral cream .... $48 !! It is daylight robbery compared to a few lysine tablets that cost less than a dollar and accomplished far more with no side effects. In the future I would not be so eager to run to the doctor for any ailments and seek out natural cures which are usually cheap or free.