With treatment, a genital herpes outbreak should go away within 5-10 days. If you experience outbreaks multiple times per year, you may be a candidate for a daily preventive medication that can help you have fewer and less severe genital herpes outbreaks.
The genital herpes outbreaks can be triggered by exposure to sunlight, menstrual periods, stress, other illness, or injury to the skin where the genital herpes appears. Avoiding these triggers, when possible, can help reduce the number of outbreaks you experience.