Medication can reduce the duration of cold sore episodes by hours to a few days depending upon when you start therapy.
The average incubation period for an initial herpes infection is 4 days (range 2 to 12) after exposure. The vesicles break and leave painful ulcers that may take two to four weeks to heal after the initial herpes infection. Recurrent herpes outbreaks are usually milder and clear within two weeks.
