Proper timely treatment of genital warts could help healing faster. These Genital warts are caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPB) which appears in the genital area as small bumps or large cauliflower like fleshy lumps in white color or flesh color. There is no specific treatment of genital warts that eradicates it but the frequency of recurrence will be reduced. Treatment of genital warts cannot be done with antibiotics. The following are the common treatment methodologies employed:
- Cryotherapy or Cryocautery: This method uses liquid nitrogen or a cryoprobe (a surgical instrument used to apply severe cold to tissues) which freezes persistent warts for a short period. (1-3 weeks) This method has little side-effects.
- Podophyllin resin: This is a brown liquid that is applied on the wart by a medical professional, which is washed after 4 hours. This resin along with podofilox lotion remove warts by stopping cell growth in that area, so care must be taken to apply in the right places. Wrong application can damage healthy tissues. The Podopfilox lotion has little side effects and is applied in a pattern of continuous 3 days (2 times) followed by a break of 4 days. This is repeated for 4 weeks.
- Laser Treatment: This is one of the most expensive methods but is effective to treat extreme, extensive genital warts. Requiring local anesthesia, the intensive beam of light (laser) destroys the HPV-induced lesion. The healing time is long and this method results in scarring.
- Electro cautery: This method is carried out when other treatment methods have failed to show result. Done under local anesthesia, this method uses electric current to preheat a needle which typically burns the wart cells and cauterizes (burns) the blood cells.
Treatment of genital warts should be done with appropriate medical consultation only.