Treatment Overview
Genital warts caused by the most common types of human papillomavirus (HPV) often go away on their own without treatment. For this and other reasons, experts sometimes have different approaches to treating genital warts.
Genital warts may disappear without treatment. This is the natural course of most genital warts.
Destroying large areas of warts is difficult and may cause scarring.
Treatment for genital warts does not eliminate the HPV infection. You may still be able to spread the infection. Condoms may help reduce the risk of HPV infection, though studies have not shown how much protection they provide.
Treatment of genital warts can be painful, and warts return after treatment in between 20% and 50% of people. 2 Warts that return after being treated usually are not treated again unless you want to be retreated. If you do, you would usually choose a different form of treatment.
Some health professionals believe that treatment for genital warts will help prevent the spread of HPV infections and keep genital warts from returning.
Watchful waiting
After you are diagnosed with genital warts, if you do not have symptoms or cosmetic concerns, you and your health professional may observe your condition without using medical treatment. This is called watchful waiting. This period may vary from a few weeks to a few months. The length of the watchful waiting period is determined by:
The severity of your symptoms.
The progression of the problem if not treated.
The risks and benefits of waiting.
Your age and medical history.
If symptoms or cosmetic concerns develop, your health professional may recommend treatment.
Watchful waiting is usually recommended for children with warts, because most warts in children go away without treatment. Also, current treatments for warts are too painful and traumatic for children.
Types of treatment
Treatments for genital warts include medications, freezing, laser, or surgery.
The type of medical treatment for genital warts will depend on:
The number, size, and location of warts.
The side effects of treatment.
The skill of the health professional for each treatment option.
The cost of treatment, which varies depending on:
The cost of medication.
Any specialized equipment used.
The number of treatments needed.
The problems caused by the warts (such as blockage of the urethra).
Your preference.
Medications
Health professionals often recommend medication applied to warts (topical drug treatment) as the first choice of treatment. A health professional will apply medications that have a high risk of causing damage to the skin around the warts; you can apply others at home.
Topical medications applied by a health professional include:
Podophyllin resin (Podofin).
Intralesional (injected into wart lesion) interferon.
Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or bichloroacetic acid (BCA).
Fluorouracil (Efudex, Fluoroplex).
Topical medications available by prescription but can be applied at home include:
Imiquimod (Aldara).
Podofilox lotion or gel (Condylox).
Caution: Do not use nonprescription wart removal products to treat genital warts. These products are not intended to be used in the genital area and may cause serious burning.
Surgery and other treatment
Surgery to remove genital warts may be done when:
Medication treatment has failed and the removal of warts is considered necessary.
Warts are widespread.
Surgical methods that may be used include:
Electrocautery.
Laser surgery.
Surgical excision.
Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP).
Cryotherapy may be done to freeze genital warts.
Treatment considerations
Without treatment, external genital warts may remain unchanged, increase in size or number, or go away. Studies show that no one treatment is completely successful because there is no cure for genital warts. All treatments have advantages and disadvantages. The benefits and effectiveness of each treatment need to be compared with the side effects and cost.
Recurrence rates vary from method to method. Recurrence is most frequent in the first 3 months after treatment. People with an impaired immune system may have more frequent recurrences after treatment than other people. 1 It is difficult to know whether a recurrence of genital warts is a new infection or an unsuccessfully treated infection.
For women, an HPV infection that causes an abnormal Pap test will be treated differently than HPV that causes visible genital warts. For more information, see the topic Abnormal Pap Test.
Several choices of treatment for pregnant women have been found to be effective and safe, including medications and surgery.
What To Think About
There is no standard method of treating genital warts. Very few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of combining more than one treatment.
Treatment of warts usually requires a series of applications rather than a single treatment.
Warts in moist areas usually respond better to treatments applied to the area, such as creams or acids.
Warts on dry skin may respond best to freezing (cryotherapy) or surgical removal.
Cryotherapy may be done when genital warts are visible and bothersome and are growing in a small area. Repeat treatments may be needed to remove all wart tissue.
The success of surgery is related to the number of warts. The success rate is higher and additional treatments are less likely to be required when surgery is performed on fewer and smaller warts. However, surgery is less likely to be needed for a few small areas of warts. Surgery may require anesthesia.
Small areas of warts can be quickly treated with removal methods, such as cryotherapy or surgical excision.
Self-applied medications may be used for larger areas of warts that need longer or repeated treatments.
A biopsy of warts on the vulva or penis that do not go away on their own or after treatment is often done to rule out precancerous or cancerous conditions.
2007-09-26 19:32:36
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
1⤋
No.
Every person is different. What works well for some people, may not work well for others. If someone has genital warts they should see their doctor. There are several different ways a person can get rid of them.
A doctor can prescribe a cream that the person can use at their convenience and at their home. Aldara cream and Condylox cream are available with a prescription.
If these creams don't work or the doctor doesn't want to try them, the doctor might suggest applying medication at the office. This is done by the doctor, is done in several visits and can be pretty expensive. Some of the medications that can be used include: Podophyllin resin (Podofin), Intralesional (injected into wart lesion) interferon, Fluorouracil (Efudex, Fluoroplex), and Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or bichloroacetic acid (BCA).
A person can also have surgery to remove genital warts by freezing (cryosurgery), burning (electrocautery), or laser treatment. Surgery is occasionally used to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.
Although treatments can get rid of the warts, they do not get rid of HPV, so warts can recur after treatment. The body's immune system typically clears the virus anywhere from 8 to 13 months, but it occasionally remains in the body for a lifetime.
2007-09-26 10:54:24
·
answer #2
·
answered by Alli 7
·
2⤊
1⤋
If you or your partner has genital warts, or if you have been exposed to infection, you should or go to a clinic that specialises in STIs or consult your doctor. Diagnosis is based on a physical examination. Tests may also be performed to check for other STIs.
There are several ways of treating genital warts. You may be prescribed a cream containing imiquimod or podophyllin for use on external gential areas and applied directly to the warts. The treatment is repeated until the warts have gone. Other techniques include cryotherapy, in which the warts are destroyed by freezing; electrocautery, which burns them off; laser treatment; surgical removal; or injecting each wart with interferon drugs, proteins that stimulate the body's immunity to the virus. Warts my recur, but in most cases the body's immune system controls them eventually.
Some types of HPV that occur in the cervix have been associated with cancer of the cervix. If HPV is identified on a cervical smear test, close monitoring, follow-up tests, and treatment will be given. However, these are not the same types of HPV that cause genital warts, and no link has been established between genital warts and cancer of the cervix.
2007-09-26 12:08:37
·
answer #3
·
answered by ? 1
·
0⤊
1⤋
They aren't many proven answers out there, and actually the ones that are frequently applied do not provide lasting results. As an example, physicians often recommend operative techniques to remove moles and warts but with this information, Moles, Warts and Skin Tags Removal from here you may find out that's still another way https://tr.im/LXNhY
Once you will use Moles, Warts and Skin Tags Removal system you will sense therefore far better about yourself. You will have a way to venture out again, without the distress at all because this system works on every type of mole, epidermis draw, and wart. It is even secure to utilize for genital warts.
The most effective part of Moles, Warts and Skin Tags Removal program is you will not have any scars and other spot whenever your tag is gone.
2016-04-29 06:29:54
·
answer #4
·
answered by yesenia 3
·
0⤊
0⤋
No. They must be burned or cut off. Go to a clinic and then stop having sex with the person who gave them to you. Get an STD evaluation too.
2007-09-26 10:55:34
·
answer #5
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
1⤋
No
2007-09-27 06:25:49
·
answer #6
·
answered by Jessica S 3
·
0⤊
0⤋