If you have genital warts, medications and treatments are really not necessary, unless you are pregnant. You can also consider treatments if you have extremely big and widespread warts that feel and look irritating. Otherwise, you may opt to wait until your warts go away even without medication and treatment.



However, if you ever opt for a surgical operation, you have many choices. One of the most recent procedures offered as a treatment for genital warts is cryotherapy. Below are some facts about it.

a. Cryotherapy refers to the process of using extremely low temperatures to destroy abnormal growths in the body. The process is regarded by experts as one of the most effective method to treat genital warts. However, cryotherapy is not only used for warts. It is also used to in treating other skin disorders such as skin tags, solar keratoses, and moles.

b. Cryotherapy should not be done in the absence of a health service provider that is skilled in treating skin disorders. Even if you can obtain the equipment and materials needed in performing the procedure, you should not perform cryotherapy by yourself. Instead, it is highly recommended for the procedure to be performed within the confines of the hospital's emergency room.

c. Liquid nitrogen is used in cryotherapy. This chemical ingredient will be used to freeze the cells and tissues of the genital warts. Because the warts are targeted at a cellular level, the process becomes more effective.

d. During the process of cryotherapy, liquid nitrogen is sprayed on the genital warts. As a result, a blister forms around the infected area. This blister heals after several days and as it heals, the wart eventually falls off. The process is usually done in several sessions.

e. Despite the fact that it is very expensive, many people opt to have cryotherapy because it is very effective. After the treatment, the warts are completely eliminated. In addition to that, the process is less invasive as compared to the other procedures used to treat extreme manifestations of genital warts. Based on clinical studies, the procedure also has lesser and milder side effects that most surgical treatments. This includes itching and scarring.

f. During the procedure and a few days after cryotherapy, patients may experience pain and redness in the treated area. The blisters can also be painful. As such, most doctors advise their patients to take oral pain-relieving medications and analgesics such as aspirin or ibuprofen. A topical steroid cream may also be applied.

g. If the genital warts reappear even after a successful treatment of cryotherapy, the doctor may use interferon instead of liquid nitrogen. Interferon also works by freezing the genital warts. This chemical is an anti viral agent that is injected to the warts directly. Since it is very expensive and complicated, interferon is used only in the most severe cases of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection.

h. No matter what medication and surgical procedure is used in treating genital warts, there is no assurance that genital warts will not reappear in the future. This is because genital warts are caused by a virus or the HPV. Since it is viral, the infection is considered incurable.

Cryotherapy will only eradicate the genital warts at the moment of the surgery. However, it cannot remove the virus. Fortunately, studies show that the HPV infection of about 70% of the population usually clears after a year.