Friday, October 31, 2008

Genital Warts: How to Get Rid of Them

By Lindelwa Maseko

There is serious concern amongst sexual health experts about the rise in cases of genital warts; affecting the genitalia of both sexes they can even infect the anus. Although some people would like to claim otherwise, both male and female forms are passed on through sex and are the result of one strain of the human papillomavirus family that they all belong too. Many carriers (especially women) are unaware they carry the genital warts virus and can pass it on without knowing even if their partner is wearing a condom; which makes prevention difficult.

Worryingly is the length of time it can take for the infection to form them; sometimes it can be a few months or even many years.The person who contracts them however, becomes a silent carrier and that is how this disease is spreading rampantly in today's world. Ano-genital warts on male and female genitalia belong to a specific strain of human papillomavirus virus called HPV6 although there are now over 100 known types. Unfortunately women can be unwilling and unknowing carriers of warts as they are often hidden in the vagina and probably won't be discovered until she has visited her doctor for a routine examination of her cervix.

In the area near the genital warts growth, can be damper and women may have more discharge because the genital area is moist and warm, the HPV virus multiplies there very fast once they start to develop. Liquid nitrogen is still the method of choice for wart removal for doctors and dermatologists as the very cold temperature destroys the skin and tissue but it normally takes more than one treatment. Removal by liquid nitrogen is quite painless but even so it is not always possible to use this process owing to the area to be treated.

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. Designed to help a person's immune system to fight the infection as well as destroy them, imiquimod can be used on ano-genital warts as well but once again, it cannot guarantee re-infection will not occur (even while it is being administered).

Unfortunately imiquimod cannot always be used and in particular it is not to be administered when a woman is pregnant. This is also the case when the skin around the area is inflamed and in particular, internally. Like all edications, imiquimod has side effects and if these are experienced it should be stopped immediately but this is worth discussing with your doctor prior to using it.

As with any information based on a medical problem, full information and options on genital warts should ideally be sought from a physician as this article is for general background only. - 15252

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