The duration of an oral herpes outbreak depends on many factors. How quickly you react to the first symptoms of a herpes outbreak, what methods of treatment you use, and what state your body is in once you receive the outbreak.
I'd like to start off with responding quickly to the outbreak. This is the most important step in reducing the duration of an outbreak. If you can start treating the virus early, it will not swell up, and grow in size. Once you feel the cold sore tingling immediately start treatment. Every minute you waste the sore grows in strength. It's essential to be proactive when you feel that your body could be at risk to an outbreak. If you've had a long night and you feel run down in the morning; it would be smart to pack an anti cold sore kit for work or school. This means bring some ointment, supplements if you take any, vitamin C, and drink plenty of water throughout the day. This way if you feel the first signs of a cold sore, you are ready to treat it immediately.
The method you treat a cold sore is essential to the speed of recovery. At the first symptoms of a herpes outbreak you can keep the swelling, and redness down by pressing an ice cube against the affected area for 30 minutes. This will slow the movement of the virus and help your body defeat it before it even presents itself upon your lip. Make sure you put the ice cube in a plastic Ziploc bag to hold the dripping water, and do not move the ice around or the virus can spread to other parts of your lip. Some people will not be able to use the ice cube method due to reasons such as their jobs or doing activities that inhibit them to do so. This is when you have to put ointment on the affected area or take supplements such as L-Lysine, 2000 mg of vitamin C, or other herbal remedies.
Last but not least, when looking at the duration of an oral herpes outbreak you have to factor in what state your body is at. If you have a cold, or feel fatigued then chances are the herpes outbreak will last much longer then if you are feeling healthy and full of energy. It is important to eat as healthy as possible, drink plenty of water, and get between 7-8 hours of sleep during this time. You want to boost your immune system so that it can fight the herpes virus at full strength.
Learn how to prevent oral herpes outbreaks, and lessen the duration by practising natural prevention methods. They work with your bodies immune system to suppress the herpes virus and keep it at a dormant state. You can learn more at my website. http://www.frequentcoldsores.com/Prevention_Methods.html
