Treatment of HPV and Genital W

Depending on factors such as their size and location, genital warts are treated in several ways. Although treatments can eliminate the warts, none eradicate the virus and warts often reappear after treatment. Patients should consult their doctors to determine the best treatment for them.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved imiquimod cream, which the patient can apply to the affected area, to treat genital warts. Other treatments include a 20 percent podophyllin solution, which the patient can apply to the affected area and later wash off, and a 0.5 percent podofilox solution, which also is applied to the affected area, but is not washed off. Pregnant women should not use podophyllin or podofilox because they are absorbed by the skin and may cause birth defects in babies. The doctor may also prescribe 5 percent 5-fluorouracil cream, which also should not be used during pregnancy, or trichloroacetic acid (TCA).

Small warts can be removed by cryosurgery (freezing), electrocautery (burning), or laser treatment. Occasionally, surgery is needed to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.

Some doctors use the antiviral drug alpha interferon, which they inject directly into the warts, to treat warts that have recurred after removal by traditional means. The drug is expensive, however, and does not reduce the rate of recurrence.

Reprinted from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

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Genital herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus or HSV. There are two types of HSV, and both can cause genital herpes. HSV type 1 most commonly infects the lips causing sores known as fever blisters or cold sores, but it also can infect the genital area and produce sores there. HSV type 2 is the usual cause of genital herpes, but it also can infect the mouth during oral sex. A person who has genital herpes infection can easily pass or transmit the virus to an uninfected person during sex.

Both HSV 1 and 2 can produce sores (also called lesions) in and around the vaginal area, on the penis, around the anal opening, and on the buttocks or thighs. Occasionally, sores also appear on other parts of the body where the virus has entered through broken skin.

HSV remains in certain nerve cells of the body for life, and can produce symptoms off and on in some infected people.

Reprinted from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

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