wart removal
The complexion is the natural color, texture, and appearance of a person’s face. Each of us is born with a different complexion, but what ultimately shapes our complexion is how we take care of it throughout time. WellMedica offers multiple Cosmetic Treatments to help you achieve your perfect complexion.
Wart Removal
Most of us desire to have a blemish free, wrinkle free, glowing complexion in order to feel more confident. The skin is our largest external organ making it important. However, our complexion tends to change with age and sun damage. It also can depend on genetics and environmental factors.
Here at WellMedica Aesthetics and Anti-Aging, we have many different cosmetic treatment options to create a healthier complexion such as acne treatment, skin lesion treatment, wrinkle reduction, reversing sun damage, and more.
What are genital warts?
Genital warts are growths that are located on the genital area. They can be small and almost invisible, or grow to a larger size and take on a cauliflower-like appearance. There may be only a few genital warts or a large number. For women, the location of genital warts can include inside or outside of the vagina (vaginal genital warts), inside or outside of the anus (anal genital warts) , or on the cervix. For men, they can appear on the penis, scrotum, groin, thighs, inside or outside the anus. They can also present in or around the mouth of someone who has had oral sexual contact with someone who has human papillomavirus (HPV). They affect the mucous membranes around these areas. Anal genital warts typically present in those who have been on the receiving end of anal intercourse, although this is not always the case.
Recommendations for optimal sexual health include pursuing treatment for HPV from a health professional like a doctor if the lesions are causing discomfort on the skin, pain, if a woman is pregnant while having contracted HPV, or if there is a history of cervical cancer in the family as HPV can in some cases progress to cause cancer. It is best to refrain from unprotected sex during an outbreak of HPV warts, as it is contagious and highly transmissible during sex.
What are the symptoms of genital warts?
Genital warts can cause itching, burning, bleeding, irritation, vaginal discharge, as well as embarrassment and discomfort for those suffering from external genital warts. For those who have larger genital warts, their sexual health may be affected without treatment as they can experience difficulty with intercourse (discomfort, pain, or even bleeding) from clinical symptoms. If the lesions are present within the urethra, they can affect urination.
Human papillomaviruses like those that cause genital warts may progress to cause certain types of cancer, like cervical, anal, and penile cancers. It is important for those who have had a history of the virus to test for precancerous cells with routine pap smears, even if the external genital warts themselves have cleared up on the skin long ago. Let Dr. Dima Aliknow if you have had an HPV infection or if you have had sexual contact with a person with HPV.
What causes genital warts?
Genital warts are caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. An HPV infection is one of many different types of sexually transmitted infections, or STIs. There are around 100 different types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs).
Infections that can cause genital HPV are incredibly common in people who are sexually active. Between five hundred thousand and a million new cases are diagnosed each year. Those with a compromised immune system are more likely to present with visible warts during an HPV infection. Those whose mother was infected with HPV while she was pregnant are more likely to carry the virus.
The virus can remain dormant for several weeks, months, or even years without appearing on the skin. It is difficult to know who passed on the virus because of how long the infection can remain in the system before showing symptoms. Using a barrier like a condom or dam is one of the most effective ways of preventing sexually transmitted diseases, as they are contracted through skin to skin contact.
People who smoke, drink alcohol, have a weak immune system, or are under 30 are at a higher risk for developing genital warts.
How are genital warts diagnosed?
Diagnosis of genital warts is typically visual, or clinical. Medically reviewed materials recommend against surgical excision simply for diagnosis unless the patient has been unresponsive to treatments, the warts are atypical for human papillomavirus, the patient is immunocompromised, or at a higher risk of developing cancer.
Dr. Dima Alimay ask questions related to your sexual activity and use of barriers and protection. A cream may be applied that will make difficult-to-see genital warts appear more clearly. They will likely examine the warts, possible with a magnifying device. Warts typically appear flesh colored but under certain circumstances can also be brownish or slightly red.
How are genital warts treated?
Treatment for genital warts is primarily aimed at removal of the symptom (lesions) rather than the viral infection itself. If a person goes into- our clinic to be treated, the doctor can give medical advice on both the best way to treat genital warts as well as recommend ways to reduce the risk of endangering the sexual health of others through the transmission of HPV.
Treatment options for an infection causing genital warts may include liquid nitrogen to freeze the warts off (called cryotherapy), prescription medicine like Imiquimod cream, an antiviral medicine, surgical excision using a laser, or an antimitotic (something that causes tissue to die). A local anesthetic can be applied for some of these treatments which cause discomfort, pain, or irritation.
Which treatment for genital warts will depend on the Dr. Dima Ali, the amount of pain the person is in, and the number of warts present, and cost, as well as whether women are pregnant at the time of treatment. The location of the warts may also determine treatment. It is easier for some treatments to be done on the skin versus inside the anus or vagina.
For some treatments for genital warts you may have to come back for additional applications of medicine, or cryotherapy and laser surgery sessions.
Typical Treatment Cycles for Patients with Genital Warts
A treatment may have to be repeated for genital warts. Although warts on the skin may go away within a number of weeks, treatments for genital warts are not always effective on the first application. Dr. Dima Ali may even determine that the health side effects of a treatment are not necessary for your particular case and they may recommend you not be treated and wait to see if the warts will go away on their own in a few weeks. If it is a more symptomatic clinical case, shecan help you search for the right treatment with the fewest side effects. Cryotherapy, or freezing warts off, can be safely done in a doctor’s office setting but should not be attempted with over the counter treatments for other kinds of warts.
If you find a wart on your genitals you may be tempted to try to treat it yourself. However, the warts and skin in the genital area can be much more sensitive than those on your feet or hands, and you can do more harm than good by attempting a cryotherapy type health treatment on your own rather than leaving it to professionals who have expertise in removing these specific types of warts.
There are other home remedies that can be found online, but none of their efficacy and safety are proven so it is best to search for a wart treatment that can be done by a professional in a safe manner rather than risk an unknown treatment on your own.
WellMedica Treatment Options
There is no treatment for the HPV virus itself, however genital warts treatment at WellMedica includes medications like imiquimod, no-downtime lasers, and medical advice from our doctor. Surgery using laser treatment can work to remove large clusters of genital warts, whether vaginal, anal, or on the surrounding genital skin.
When you first come into the clinic the area is numbed with a local anesthetic cream before the person is treated to reduce discomfort during the procedure. Treatment can give peace of mind, ease discomfort during sex, and there is some evidence that treatment actually can prevent the virus from being as transmissible to others.
What will happen if genital warts are left untreated?
It is recommended to get treatment for genital warts if they are causing irritation or interfering with urination or sex. Without treatment warts may go away on their own in a matter of weeks, though they may come back later.
It is important to be aware that an HPV infection may increase the risk of cervical cancer and other cancers so you should talk to your medical doctor about sexual health and get regular pap smears and STD tests to make sure any diagnosis happens early on.
Genital wart prevention
A vaccine is available to prevent HPV. It can be given in two or three doses any time from the age of nine until someone is forty-five years old. It is more effective if it is given at a young age before the person becomes sexually active. If you know your partner has or has had genital warts or HPV, it is recommended that you get an HPV vaccine like Gardasil to prevent you from contracting the virus through close contact or sex with that person.
Genital warts are common and treatable, so be on the lookout for warts and seek treatment to prevent them from recurring or progressing into cancer.
Table Of Contents
What are genital warts?
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What causes genital warts?
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How are genital warts diagnosed?
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How are genital warts treated?
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What will happen if genital warts are left untreated?
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Genital wart prevention?
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