How Long Do Fever Blisters Last?
It’s important to note that fever blister outbreaks are not across the board identical. This is to say that one fever blister outbreak won’t absolutely be the same as a previous outbreak, and outbreaks in different people certainly won’t always be identical. The reason for bringing this up is that people often want absolute answers when it comes to fever blister symptomology.
The fact is absolute answers about fever blisters aren’t always possible. There are however some firm facts about fever blisters and how they often present.
Fever blisters are the result of a herpes simplex virus infection, typically herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV 1). Fever blisters and cold sores are different terms for the exact same condition: an HSV 1 infection. Like all herpes symptoms, fever blister outbreaks typically move through a cycle. The cycle starts with a tingle and/or soreness, then moves to an appearance of small (possibly shiny) blister clusters that fill with fluid, burst and drain, scab over, and then heal.
From start to finish, a fever blister outbreak typically lasts two weeks. Do note however that this timeline can run considerably less when effective treatment is used. With treatment a fever blister outbreak can go from lasting two weeks to lasting a week, or even several days. As cold sores and fever blisters are the same condition, cold sore treatment can and should be used if treatment for fever blisters is desired.
Fever blisters are contagious, particularly when an active fever blister outbreak is present. During an active fever blister outbreak the herpes virus is present at the skin surface in significant quantities. Coming into direct contact with the skin at this time carries a definite probability for transmission of fever blisters from one person to another.
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