1. Get Diagnosed by a Doctor
Getting diagnosed by a doctor is the first step in getting rid of genital warts. It's unwise to try to treat genital warts with over-the-counter treatments for warts found on other parts of your body, as these warts are not the same, and those medications can cause irritation. Additionally, the virus that causes genital warts, HPV, can also lead to several types of cancer, including cervical cancer and cancer of the penis. If you do have genital warts, your doctor will probably want to monitor you for these cancers in the future.
2. Medications
Your doctor can prescribe a medication to help you get rid of an outbreak of genital warts, but there is no treatment that completely destroys the underlying virus, HPV. To get rid of the virus, you will have to wait for your body's immune system to do its job. If your immune system is compromised, you may not be able to get rid of HPV.
There are three main medications used to treat genital warts. The first, imiquimod (sold under the brand name Aldara), is a prescription cream that enhances your immune system, so that it can combat genital warts. The second, podofilox (sold under the brand name Condylox), is also a cream, but it destroys external genital wart tissue. Finally, TCA, or trichloroacetic acid, also destroys wart tissue. Both podofilox and TCA are applied by a doctor, though you may be instructed to apply follow-up applications of podofilox at home
3. Surgical Options
There are several situations that call for the surgical removal of genital warts. If the warts are very large or resistant to medications, you might want to consider surgery. Additionally, if you are pregnant and your baby might come in contact with your warts during delivery, surgery may be recommended. There are several ways doctors use to remove genital warts, including cryotherapy, electrocautery, excision and laser surgery. Cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen to freeze off warts, and electrocautery uses electrical current to burn off warts. Excision and laser surgery both cut off the warts, but these procedures require different tools. Which procedure is most appropriate for your case depends on the number, size and location of your genital warts.
