Health @ Hfgrotto

Genital warts are very infectious and accounts for the reason of their continued prevalence but they also need to be treated early before they grow large. They are the result of one of the forms of human papillomavirus or abbreviated to HPV that are transmitted sexually, even orally and are actually a virus. The problem comes when you try to prevent contracting them as in the case of female genital warts, the woman may have them internally and unless she has recently undergone an examination, she may not know they are there; even using a condom is not guaranteed to stop the spread.

Sometimes they will not appear for a long time after infection, even 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. The most popular treatment for wart removal is the use of liquid nitrogen which is applied at very low temperatures but a number of applications are usually required before it can be safely removed. Using liquid nitrogen is a painless process but cannot be used on certain areas of the body which is why it is for the doctor or dermatologist to decide.

Sometimes these days lasers are used to remove warts but often a doctor will prefer to use electro-cautery although a minor surgical procedure cannot be rules out. All the treatments depend upon the location of the infection and even after they are removed, there is no guarantee they will not come up again. 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.

It is best to get a doctors consent to use imiquimod as it cannot be used in every circumstance including pregnancy,its use on inflamed skin or internally is also not recommended. 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. Any information presented here is done to give an overview of the subject of genital warts and is not a substitute for professional medical advice which should be sought if the condition in this article relates to you.