Treating Genital Warts

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Of all the types of warts that can affect you, genital warts are possibly the most embarrassing to deal with and address because of their unfortunate location. Genital warts are also considered a sexually transmitted infection, and the social connotations of STIs can make it a difficult condition to deal with for many people. An important thing to consider with genital warts is that because of the sensitive location of the warts, care should be taken when considering which substances are to be applied to your genitals. Many over the counter options are likely to be unsuitable, so more often than not your best port of call is your GP.

What treatments can I use for genital warts?

Since it is advisable that you seek a GP’s advice if you have genital warts, it is often prescription medications and treatments which are administered to treat the condition. A first line treatment is often podofilox, which is also known as Warticon and Wartec, which a fairly safe and effective option, particularly compared to many other alternatives explored over the years. This substance is applied as a gel or a cream to the warts twice a day for 3 days, after which a rest period of up to a week is observed before the treatment is repeated. This is what is referred to as a cycled treatment, and around 4 treatment cycles are often observed. Imiquimod (also known as Aldara) is often used, and works to induce an immune reaction against the wart infection.

Other treatments like cryosurgery are known to be quite effective, but where laser treatments are used for other warts their use is seldom advised for genital warts because of the risk of scarring and the cost. Electrocauterisation is known to be an effective option in many cases, and it is actually known to be more effective than the more modern cryosurgery despite longer treatment options.

Treatment of genital warts is generally approached with care, and more aggressive options only adopted in cases where other treatment methods have failed to achieve much. It is important to remember that where genital warts are concerned it is advisable to consult your GP rather than go for over the counter treatments which can often irritate your genitalia.

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