Healing without meds

[AnnieO]

Hi All, It's been a while since I've posted. It's been a year and half since my last outbreak. The doc put me a meds for 10days (I'm not liking some of the side-effects). At day 6 the sores are gone.  I really hate to take meds and feel like the body does pretty well healing itself, but I understand the need for meds in a life/death situation, and everyone has their own situation to deal with. So, my question is: how long does a genital herpes outbreak last if no meds are involved. 

[mr_hopp]

Hey @AnnieO, good to hear from you again.

I’m glad to know your sores are gone by day 6 with the meds, even if the side effects are a pain. 

Without meds, an initial genital herpes outbreak typically lasts 2-4 weeks, but because your body's immune system gets more of a natural hold on it, future outbreaks only tend to last 3-7 days. It starts with tingling and itching, then blisters and sores, and finally scabs over and heals. It varies from person to person and immune system to immune system.

So yes, taking meds can shorten the duration and lessen the severity, but there are only really 2 reasons to take meds (to protect a partner who doesn't have herpes and/or if your outbreaks are severe/frequent); here's an article on it: https://www.herpesopportunity.com/post/herpes-medication

You’re doing great managing it, and it’s all about finding what works best for you.

[montereypop]

On 8/8/2024 at 2:16 PM, AnnieO said:

Hi All, It's been a while since I've posted. It's been a year and half since my last outbreak. The doc put me a meds for 10days (I'm not liking some of the side-effects). At day 6 the sores are gone.  I really hate to take meds and feel like the body does pretty well healing itself, but I understand the need for meds in a life/death situation, and everyone has their own situation to deal with. So, my question is: how long does a genital herpes outbreak last if no meds are involved. 

The answer really varies from person to person. Some people, including myself, experience regular (i.e. monthly) outbreaks without antivirals. Having this many OBs does lead to one asking themselves if saying no to antivirals and experiencing frequent OBs is actually worse than taking medicines to reduce the frequency of OBs and having some sort of "normal" life. As most of the people on here will agree one, HSV isn't just about the skin condition, but the change in lifestyle and psychological impact it has. 

If you don't have frequent OBs, then I agree that there is no need for you to take many medicines! 

[AnnieO]

I guess what I'm asking is, on average, how long does an outbreak last without being on meds? I started to feel a lot better at day four and completely healed by day 6 and still had to take meds till gone. 10 day regiment at 5 a day. 

[mr_hopp]

@AnnieO On average without meds an outbreak will last 3-7 days. Again, it varies like that because everyone’s immune system is different. Taking meds tends to cut outbreak severity and healing time in half. And the better you take care of yourself in general (good sleep, diet, exercise, mindset, positivity, etc.) the better your immune system will help so it naturally.