A pilot study of treatment of herpes labialis with 1072 nm narrow wavebandlight

A randomized prospective double-blind study was performed to compare the ef ficacy of a single 5 min 1072 nm narrow waveband light application against topical aciclovir applied five times daily in the treatment of herpes labia lis, Treatment was initiated within 36 h of the onset of symptoms and the e nd point was defined as the day that the crust was discarded leaving an uni nterrupted underlying skin at the site of the cold sore. The results demons trated that a single 5 min light treatment significantly reduced cold sore healing time by 4 days; 1072 nm light healed cold sores in 4.3 +/- 1.8 days (mean +/- SD) as compared with aciclovir applied five times daily, 8.5 +/- 3.0 days (P < 0.0001).