COMPARE PRODUCT OPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

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No reduction in duration or severity of the infection. 

1. Camphor, menthol, eucalyptus oil, phenol can be good at providing temporary or partial relief of symptoms.  

2. Benzocaine and/or lidocaine are topical anesthetic agents. They treat the symptoms by blocking the nerve signals to the brain. 

3. Dimethicone, mineral oil, petrolatum act to retain moisture and may help provide relief after the formation of a scab, but the cold sore still has to go through its 7-14+ day healing process. They can be inconvenient by leaving a visible residue since they do not get absorbed by the skin. 

4. Glycerin is a humectant, which means it helps to retain moisture and can help soften a scab that forms, but the cold sore still has to go through its 7-14+ day healing process.

5. Lysine is an amino acid that blocks another amino acid , arginine, which promotes HSV replication. It is taken either orally or applied topically. Reports indicate varied rates of success for different individuals. And it is dependent on high dosage when used orally.  

6. Table salt (sodium chloride) or epsom salt.  A “home” remedy that may be suggested on well-meaning websites or social media posts. Direct application of salt to a cold sore blister/scab may be able to help drying out the liquid-filled blister or scabs, but salt can cause the skin to crack, which can prolong the recovery process. 

NOTE: These descriptions of treatment options are not meant to suggest medical advice, and do not provide a comprehensive review, but are provided as general information so you can start to assess your situation with your doctor on how best to treat your symptoms.    

1. Docosanol based cold sore treatments, must start within 2 days of the first sign of symptoms, typically tingling or itch, for any noticeable benefit. Docosanol is not effective once a cold sore/ blister is formed because it works by preventing the virus from entering healthy cells. If treatment does not begin early, the virus will have already entered a large number of the host's cells, which means that it would have spread and replicated rapidly. At this stage, there is no benefit in preventing viral entry as this process has already been completed. 

Clinical studies with docosanol report: 

“..... median time to healing in 370 docosanol-treated patients was 18 hours shorter than observed in 367 placebo-treated patients.....” (Sacks; et al; , J Amer Acad Dermatology. 2001, Aug;) 

This means it reduces healing time by less than a day in a lesion that typically lasts 7-14 days. 

2. Acyclovir, valacyclovir (Valtrex) and penciclovir (Denavir) require a prescription in the USA. These agents are nucleoside analogues that work by blocking replication of viral DNA. Like docosanol, these prescription medications do not kill the virus. By their own recommendations, application should start before the cold sore lesions have formed (i.e. within 2 days of the onset of symptoms), or there is likely no noticeable benefit. 

The reduction in symptom duration is limited with use of these agents.  For example, it has been shown that a nucleoside analogue: “….only reduces the healing process in little more than 2 days ...."   (Alvarez,  Front Microbiol, 2020, Feb; 11:139)

2 days shorter duration is a relatively minor improvement for a lesion that can last 7-14 days, or longer.  

A yet further limitation is that the virus can develop resistance to these medications for individuals who use them frequently, rendering them ineffective at some point.  

3. Hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol.  These are mentioned merely because you may find them as so-called “home” remedies.  You might read about these on well-meaning websites or social media posts. Note that they will sting an open blister or scab. More importantly, they can damage surrounding healthy tissue, can lengthen healing time and can leave a scar. Efficacy has not been proven.

NOTE: These descriptions of treatment options are not meant to suggest medical advice, and do not provide a comprehensive review, but are provided as general information so you can start to assess your situation with your doctor on how best to treat your symptoms.      

Zap-H™ contains a combination of ingredients that brings about rapid absorption through the skin and into a skin sore, resulting in rapid hydration of that sore, which leads to the disappearance of that sore. 

The disappearance of the sore is further due to Zap-H™ dissolving the outer protective coating of the virus, called the viral envelope. This is not a drug effect (see *Note below). Rather, Zap-H™ acts as a biologic “detergent”.  Just as detergents dissolve oils and grease, Zap-H™ dissolves the viral envelope, which consists highly of lipids, i.e., oily substances.  No other available topical formulation for skin sores has such an effect. 

The herpesviruses persist in the body and have no known cure. The reasons as to why they persevere are complicated. The viral envelope plays a role in the viruses being able to evade the immune system. By dissolving the viral envelope, Zap-H™ theoretically improves the ability of the immune system to target the virus. (This method of action is theoretical with respect to human use and has not been approved by the FDA.  However, numerous published research articles substantiate the viral envelope disrupting mechanism by Zap-H™ ingredients.) 

Further yet, the ingredients in Zap*H™ are very safe. Key ingredients consist of oils and fatty acids that are also found in mothers' milk {“The Body’s Own”} and coconut oil.  What could be more “natural” than The Body’s Own?  

Certain compounds in mother’s milk, namely monolaurin, are known to have protective effects for the fetus against viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms.  The importance of monolaurin in mother’s milk is that if you take the water out of milk, monolaurin comprises 20% of the remaining non-water, solids. Monolaurin and other related compounds are a part of the Zap-H™ formulation. Some of these mother’s milk compounds are also found in coconut oil.  In fact, monolaurin makes up 45% of coconut oil. Coconut oil has been touted as a topical agent for cold sores. However, coconut oil, acting alone, does not have the “detergent” effects as does the Zap-H™ formulation.  And, coconut oil contains additional oils that act as barriers that consequently prevent absorption.  In summary, Zap-H™ has enhanced effects on skin sores over mother’s milk and coconut oil due to the water-based formulation, with rapid absorption and hydration effects that results from the unique combination of ingredients. 

Zap-H™ contains no drugs. Because the ingredients are present in mother’s milk, this further indicates that this is not a drug (see below).  All ingredients are safe and approved compounds for human use and/or for topical application. 

We put The Body’s Own ingredients into a package for your convenient use and enhanced their performance by combining them with a special blend of safe, and mostly food grade ingredients. 

* NOT A DRUG  

 Zap-H™ is deemed a biologic detergent (bio-detergent) and is not a drug, having no drug-like effects. A drug targets a specific biological pathway or molecule in a single type of microbe and, in most instances, does not have a broad-spectrum effect. It generally targets only one type of microbe. For example, a drug can be either an antiviral, antibacterial or antifungal agent, but it does not target more than one of these types.  

 In contrast to drugs, detergents have broad-spectrum effects on numerous and varying types of microbes. Detergents act by disrupting the lipid-bilayer that is a part of the outer structure of microbial pathogens (e.g., bacteria, fungi, and/or mycobacteria) including the viral envelope.   

Detergents do not target a specific biological pathway or molecule but act by physical means. They dissolve into the oil-like, lipid microbial membrane, which disrupts its stability. Zap-H™ similarly has a broad-spectrum destabilizing effect on microbial membranes, and in this way, the effect is essentially the same as synthetic detergents. Zap-H™ as a bio-detergent is an improvement over synthetic detergents as it consists of biological compounds found in nature that can be metabolized by the body, ultimately making Zap-H™ immensely safer to apply topically.