STD GENITAL WARTS: TREATMENT
About 20 percent of small warts disappear on their own without treatment. Therefore someone who has a history of warts may want to delay treatment for a few weeks to determine whether the new wart will resolve on its own. For someone who has difficulty in identifying warts, a visit to a health care provider is probably a good idea.
The goal of treatment is getting rid of the visible warts, since as yet there is no way to get rid of the virus once infection has taken place. Although some people may spontaneously clear the virus once they are infected, no treatment clears the virus completely. Treating the entire genital area using the methods described here—most of which destroy the skin cells in which the virus resides—has not proven effective in eliminating the HPV, and it is extremely painful. If the warts are irritating, uncomfortable, or cosmetically unacceptable, then treatment is recommended.
There is no good evidence that treating the warts eliminates the risk of transmission to others, but it may at least decrease the risk. Treatment of the warts also does not eliminate the possibility of recurrences. In fact, most people who have symptomatic warts will experience recurrences. Warts can be difficult to treat in people who smoke, women who are pregnant, people whose immune systems are suppressed (from cither drugs such as steroids or medical conditions such as AIDS), and people with autoimmune diseases such as lupus or skin conditions such as eczema.
Vaccines are being developed that may prevent people from becoming infected with the warts virus and may possibly aid in the treatment of warts in people who are already infected. Until they become available, however, the following treatments are recommended. You and your health care provider should together decide which treatment is best for you.
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