I don't know how many of you get cold sores, but I used to get them quite frequently (a couple times a year) until I read an article on the internet last year about supplementing with the amino acid Lysine (500mg/day).  It has been a year and I haven't had a single one.  The general idea is when your Arginine/Lysine balance is out of wack (hi arginine/low lysine) which mine was due to diet, the virus is never suppressed.  I eat a lot of nuts, oats, whole wheat products (trying to be healthy!) and those are all high in arginine.  What you need is a properly balanced ratio of the two amino acids.

I'm sorry I don't remember the exact website I looked at back then, but there is some very similar info at:

www.herpes-coldsores.com

on the left side of the homepage, scroll down, under "beating herpes" there are sections about lysine and diet that are pretty interesting and informative.

Also, a weird coincidence, the Q&A question of the day on the Dr Weil website is regarding cold sores, so you can check that out too if you're interested.  www.drweil.com

I know this is off the "normal" skin care topic on the forum, but I know first hand how embarrassing (and painful) cold sores can be, so I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone needs help.