A Guide to Removing Genital Warts
Genital warts are a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease, and they are caused by certain sub-types of the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Genital warts are the most obvious and easily recognized sign of HPV, and can be caused by a variety of different strands of the virus, although some people with the virus do not develop any genital warts at all.
Treatment
When it comes to the treatment of genital warts, there are a few different options available. Actually in the majority of genital wart cases they will end up going away on their own, but they can always recur and there is really no surefire way of ever knowing when they will disappear and reappear again.
Removing genital warts then is the only real way to treat this condition, and depending on the specific size and location of the warts, there are a few different genital warts removal methods that the doctor will select from.
Imiquimid is one of the most commonly used products for removing genital warts and it is better known under the Aldara name. It is a prescription medication that is used to treat quite a few different diseases of the skin in fact, and besides genital warts this includes skin cancer, some superficial malignant melanomas, and Bowen's disease.
Trichloracetic acid is also very commonly used for removing genital warts, and although it is similar to Imiquimid it is also very different in many ways. It is more similar to liquid nitrogen, which is actually the most often used methods of all.
The liquid nitrogen that is used for removing genital warts is produced industrially in very large quantities by fractional distillation of liquid air. It basically works by causing instant frostbite on whatever surface it is applied to, especially when it comes in contact with living tissue, such as the skin.
Your doctor may use liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart, a treatment which is better known as cryotherapy. It will typically cause a little discomfort but little to no actual pain, and in order to be able to completely remove a wart, your doctor will most likely have to use this liquid nitrogen for several weeks in a row until improvement is noted. If there is no improvement noted, then they will probably decide to try out a different method of treatment and see if those results are any better.
The most important thing is that if you ever notice any genital warts on yourself that you get in to see your doctor as soon as possible and get the proper treatment for it. This is not only for your own safety but also for others', so that if you are having sexual relations with other people you do not pass it on to them.