What Are Genital Warts?
Caused by the human papillomavirus, genital warts are painful, flesh-colored bumps or cauliflower-shaped bumps that have been known to cause cervical cancer in women. While genital warts sometimes cause no symptoms and may be difficult to see with the naked eye, they sometimes can form in clusters and can cause pain and even difficulty in getting pregnant.
Genital warts are diagnosed first by taking a medical history, including any history of symptoms, date of last STD test, and if you have had the HPV vaccine. A doctor will also use a Pap smear to test for the presence of the human papillomavirus. Another option is to apply acetic acid to an area of the genitals. If warts are present, they will turn white when the acid is applied, making them more visible.
Treatments and Recovery Time
How fast genital warts are cleared often depends upon the treatment method used to heal them. Because genital warts are a virus, not a bacteria, they cannot be treated using antibiotics. For example, one treatment is podophyllin resin, which is a liquid applied to the warts at a doctor's office and is washed off four hours later. Several applications may be required before the warts go away completely, which may take up to four weeks. A weakened form of the liquid, podopfilox lotion/gel may also be applied at home, on a schedule of twice a day for three days, then four days without application. This treatment usually takes four weeks to be effective.
Additional Treatments for Wart Removal
The following treatments are used to immediately remove warts. While this does not prevent recurrences, it does eliminate a current breakout of warts.
Cryocautery involves using liquid nitrogen to freeze warts that frequently reoccur. This treatment is applied every one to three weeks, and may immediately remove the warts, depending on the effectiveness of the treatment.
Laser treatments focus on numerous or treatment-resistant warts for immediate removal.
Surgical removal, in which a doctor removes the wart via a scalpel or lancet under local anesthetic.
In the absence of treatment, genital warts can take months to a year to heal. For this reason, it is important to seek immediate treatment as soon as symptoms are noted.
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