Fever blisters refer to the painful and fluid-filled blisters that generally occur outside the mouth--on the lips, chin and cheek and inside or outside the nostrils. In some cases, the condition can also be found to occur inside the mouth on the gums and roof of the mouth. Fever blisters are actually an infection caused by certain types of viruses, which usually hide in the nerve cells of the face. It is very contagious, but very much preventable. By taking lysine supplements or a diet rich in lysine along with the other essential food nutrients, you can prevent the occurrence of the infection and speed up the healing of the blisters.
Causes
Fever blisters are a contagious infection caused by the herpes simplex virus and there are two types of this virus. The type 1 virus causes 95 percent of the recurrent fever blister outbreaks. Eighty percent of its population carries the HSV 1 virus. The type 2 virus is more popularly known as the genital herpes virus, which is accounted to 5 percent to 10 percent of fever blisters' occurrence. Usually, after the blisters heal, the virus slips into the nerve cells found in the skin and lies dormant until the immune system weakens. Since the infection commonly occurs in the mouth, it can easily be spread by kissing. In fact, kids as young as 10 can already be infected and become a carrier of these types of virus.
Lysine and Fever Blisters
Lysine is one of the essential amino acids needed by the body to maintain health. Being called "essential" means our body does not have the capacity to produce it. We usually obtain lysine from the food we eat. A diet rich in lysine is known to prevent the infection caused by as it slows down the virus's rate of replication.
How Lysine Works?
Lysine naturally competes with arginine for intestinal transport. A diet complete with foods rich in lysine, such as brewer's yeast, legumes, dairy, wheat germ, fish and meat, lowers the arginine levels in the body. In an in vitro study, it was observed that the amino acid arginine play vital roles to the replication of herpes virus. Hence, increasing lysine intake has an antiviral effect. Foods rich in arginine are chocolate, peanuts and almonds.
Sources of Lysine
The essential amino acid lysine mainly comes from the food we eat. However, we are given the option to effectively raise our lysine intake by means of supplementation. Nowadays, we are exposed to hundreds of types of dietary supplements. However, only a limited number is dedicated to lysine supplementation. We often see lysine given in combination with other food vitamins and minerals. Thankfully, the increasing awareness on the significant benefits of lysine has produced supplements focusing more on lysine supplementation.
Side-Effects
Our body practically needs the amino acid lysine. With that, there are no known harmful side-effects of lysine supplements. One definite side-effect is that it strengthens the immune system, particularly the body's defense against the infections caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Warning
Lysine should not be taken with milk, for milk neutralizes its antiviral effect. For people under certain medications, it is advised not to take lysine supplements along with the Gentamicin, Tobramycin, Amikacin, Kanamycin or Netilmicin antibiotics.
Tags: amino acid, caused herpes, caused herpes simplex, herpes simplex, herpes simplex virus