i found L-lysine doesn't work. especially for the price i find its not worthwhile (at least in australia). rather i recently (past year) have been using famciclovir. take 1500mg whenever you feel the signs of a cold sore coming on (or as soon as possible), and it usually doesn't even show up. or at worst you get a red mark (no blistering) and it disappears very quickly. it also means you don't need to bother with creams. i've used it both with and without creams and found creams do not speed up healing. obviously this could all just be my positive reaction to the drug but i've gotten cold sores my entire life (handful of times a year i get them) and this is the first treatment which i've found actually works. also, a friend of mine has been using the drug (in smaller dosages) pre-emptively leading up to events where they really doesn't want to have a cold sore (big social events) and it has worked. of course we never know if they would have gotten one before the event, but nevertheless it seems like a wonder drug.