It is in its prodromal stage for 6 to 48 hours before your cold sore becomes visible. During this time, you may use the following methods to prevent the sore from surfacing. This is the best time to stop it, rather than having to wait once it gets big and nasty! A) Ice it or apply a cold compress.[4] Do this hourly, or as frequently as possible. b)

Sure, you can try to work through it and hope you'll feel better quickly. And sometimes that happens. But more often, those pesky symptoms stick around and leave you feeling sneezy and sniffly. Colds usually last 3 to 7 days, but sometimes they hang on as long as 2 weeks.