In my recent alternative medicine newsletter i read that Tagamet (Cimetidine) can help cut the lenth of a cold sore outbreak. Apparantly, the cimetidine works to trick your immune system into thinking it is healthy. When a cold sore begins, I take 200mg of tagamet morning noon and evening, then 400 mg at bedtime. My cold sores last about 3 days instead of 7+. It has also been helpful in cutting down on the length of time for my chronic shingles outbreaks. I thought this was great considering the cost of some of the prescription meds out there. Tagamet can be bought at any grocery or drugstore. Hope this helps others as it has helped me! :bouncing: