How are genital warts treated?
Genital warts may go away on their own because your immune system can fight off the infection that causes it. However, they may get larger, multiply or become increasingly uncomfortable. Removing genital warts reduces your chances of spreading the infection since an active outbreak spreads more easily. Remember, treatment for genital warts isn’t a cure.
There are different ways to remove genital warts. You may need several treatments to get rid of them. During treatment, you should abstain from sexual contact.
Your healthcare provider may use one of these methods to treat genital warts:
- Electrocautery: An electric current burns away warts.
- Freezing: During cryotherapy, your provider applies liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy warts.
- Laser treatment: A laser light destroys tiny blood vessels inside warts, cutting off their blood supply.
- Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP): With LEEP, your provider uses an electrically charged wire loop to remove warts. A provider may use this method to remove warts on your cervix.
- Topical (skin) medicine: Once a week for several weeks, you apply a prescription chemical solution or cream to the warts. The chemical causes blisters to form under the warts, stopping blood flow. In some cases, your provider may apply the chemical solution at their office. There are also prescription creams your provider will prescribe that you can use at home.
- Surgery: Your provider may surgically cut out warts that are large or don’t respond to other treatments.
Treatment to remove genital warts doesn’t cure you from HPV. Even if you don’t have an active outbreak and your warts were removed, you can still spread HPV.
How long do genital warts last?
Genital warts and HPV is lifelong. That means even with treatment to remove them, the warts may come back.
Everyone responds differently to treatment to remove warts. If you have genital warts, talk to your healthcare provider about what removal option works best for you.
Can I get genital warts more than once?
Yes. There’s no cure for HPV, the virus that causes genital warts. As a result, you can get genital warts over and over again.
What are the complications of genital warts?
Genital warts generally don’t cause any serious health complications. The strain of HPV that cause genital warts is low-risk. The HPV strains that cause cancer aren’t the same ones that cause genital warts.
Are genital warts cancer?
No, genital warts don’t turn into cancer.
How do genital warts affect pregnancy?
If you have an active outbreak of genital warts while pregnant, your hormone levels may cause the warts to bleed, get larger or multiply. Rarely, these complications happen:
- A large wart or mass of warts blocks the birth canal. You may need to deliver via C-section.
- HPV passes to the fetus, causing warts to form inside its airway. This condition, called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, is very rare.
If you’ve had genital warts in the past and don’t have an active outbreak during pregnancy, you shouldn’t have any problems.
