<strong>What it is</strong>: A hand-held gadget that stops cold sores in their tracks.

<strong>What it does</strong>: Though I don't suffer from cold sores, I hear they can ruin your confidence faster than a date with last year's bikini bottoms. But isn't it great to be living in 2009? Because the genius inventors at Zeno Corporation, who created an <a href="http://www.myzeno.com/" target="_blank">acne-zapping device</a> just a few years ago, have now figured out that the same technology can be applied to cold sores. God, I love science.

Anyway, the big deal about this device is that if you use it at the very first sign of a cold sore, it can prevent the cold sore from ever developing at all.

Did you hear that? Okay, I'll repeat it (and bold it, for good measure): <strong>It can prevent the cold sore from ever developing at all.</strong> Gosh, I don't even <em>get </em>cold sores and I'm impressed!

Here's how it works. You take the battery-operated device and hold the dime-sized tip in contact with the cold sore, where it emits a low-level heat for four minutes. (It's so smart that it only heats up when in direct contact with the skin.) Do this at the first indication that a cold sore is forming (called the prodrome stage, when it's itchy or tingly) and every four hours thereafter, and you can kiss that cold sore goodbye. Even if you don't happen to catch the pesky thing as early as you'd like, the device can still help shorten its duration more effectively than prescription anti-viral treatments. Now that's something to smile about.

<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>Priced at $129 each. Available exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.</em></span>