More on Genital Warts

The sexually transmitted condition of genital warts is most disturbing with both sexes affected both inside and outside their sexual organs including the anus; often giving the appearance of regular varieties. Although some people would like to claim otherwise, both male and female forms are passed on through sex and are the result of one strain of the human papilloma virus family that they all belong too. The problem it is difficult not to contract genital warts because even condoms cannot prevent them; and the person who passes them on may be completely unaware they have them.

Contact with an affected person is no guarantee they will spread immediately because they may not develop for months or sometimes many years. This means the person who was infected starts infecting others as well. While there are many hundreds of strains of this virus, only one causes ano-genital warts: the HPV6 strain. Normally a person becomes aware of warts as they can be seen and felt but those inside a woman’s cervix will probably only be discovered when she has a gynecological examination.

Genital warts often cause the area around them to become damp and this is an environment which aids their multiplication and can cause some discharge when located inside or around a woman’s vagina. One of the safest methods of wart removal is the application of very cold liquid nitrogen by a doctor or dermatologist; however it often takes a few applications before the skin and its tissue are destroyed. Removal by liquid nitrogen is quite painless but even so it is not always possible to use this process owing to the area to be treated.

Two other methods which require professional medical attention is the use of electro-cautery or the emerging laser wart removal process. Even these methods rely on the infection being located in a position that it is safe to use the process but removal is no guarantee of complete eradication. Genital warts can be treated with imiquimod which is administered to aid the immune system kill them directly but it still can’t kill the virus that causes the infection and some may still form even when the liquid is being used.

Unfortunately imiquimod cannot always be used and in particular it is not to be administered when a woman is pregnant; this liquid cannot be applied inside the vagina or on the genitals nor on inflamed areas of skin. This is a strong substance that has side-effects like many medications so someone using imiquimod needs to look out for coughs, blistering, aches all over and an itching in the genital region; a doctor would be able to elaborate on this. The information on genital warts supplied here is not intended to replace professional medical advice so please consult your doctor if you have any medical concerns and only follow advice given in this article after consulting your doctor.