Also for those who're having an outbreak then be conscious of the L-Arginine to L-Lysine ratio in your food plan you can look online for charts with the ratio of L-Lysine to L-Arginine in different foods. I do know that I have not had a cold sore since taking these. I've been taking a distinct lysine product (1000 mg day by day). This is THE ONLY lysine product I exploit regularly