Dear Dr. SerVaas: My 60-year-old son has recently contracted shingles. I heard that lysine might help relieve shingles. I would appreciate any information you might be able to send me on that subject.
H. E. Collingridge
Dear Dr. SerVaas: I was diagnosed with shingles in April 2003. In October, I read a letter about this dreaded disease in the July/August "Medical Mailbox" that I had somehow missed. After reading your response, I got in my car and drove to the drugstore, clutching my copy of the Post. I showed it to the pharmacist. She came to me, clutching a 100-tablet bottle of 500 mg lysine. She suggested I start with one tablet that day and check with my doctor in the morning. However, the itching and burning called for more, and I took another pill at bedtime. The next morning, I checked my chest and back. The redness was almost gone!
Since receiving your list of high-arginine foods, I have also stopped eating chocolates, peanuts, etc.
Ann Bowen
Dear Readers: We have published many letters from readers who successfully treat cold sores and shingles (both caused by herpesviruses) with 1-lysine, an inexpensive amino acid available without prescription. The late Dr. Richard Griffith, a dedicated lysine researcher at Indiana University, recommended that cold-sore sufferers take 500 mg per 22 pounds of body weight daily.
Lysine probably works best when it is combined with dietary changes that restrict levels of arginine. For a list of the lysine and arginine contents in common foods, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to "Medical Mailbox," 1100 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202.
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