Genital warts are often caused by HPV or the human papillomavirus.
Treatments for genital warts are mostly administered to diminish the wart but it cannot cure the HPV infection completely. Vaccines have been discovered to immunize young girls from the HPV types 6 and 11, hence, reducing the possibility if the occurrence of the said warts. Plus, these warts usually disappear on their own but some grow bigger and stay for good if not treated so there is still a need for men and women alike to have knowledge on some of the common treatments for genital warts.
Here are some of the recommended treatments for genital warts by doctors:
- Podofilox 0.5% solution is either in the form of a gel or a cream. This is the cheapest way to treat genital warts. However, it gives mild to moderate irritation to patients.
- Cryotherapy is done by professional due to the process needed to administer it. Wrong use of the treatment may cause complications to the patient.
- Podophyllin resin is also a doctor-applied treatment. It is applied thinly to the wart and should be air-dried afterwards before it comes into contact with clothing or any material. Failure to air-dry the wart may cause irritation to surrounding areas.
- Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or bichloroacetic acid (BCA) treatment has not yet been tested thoroughly but they are widely used.
- One of the last options of the treatments for genital warts is through surgery. This is often done when the wart is too large to cure using the other methods.
- Interferon is a very expensive way to treat genital warts but they actually have just the same effects as the other treatment options.