Cryotherapy is a medical procedure that involves the utilization of extreme cold to destroy any abnormal growth on the skin. It is used to alleviate skin disease such as warts, moles, skin tags, and solar keratoses. Cryotherapy is considered one of the most effective treatments for genital warts. The said procedure can only be done at a doctor's office.



Although you may get the required chemicals for freezing your genital warts at home, it is highly recommended that you let a medical expert do it. Cryotherapy can produce disastrous results when it is done in the wrong manner.

Liquid nitrogen is the main chemical utilized in a cryotherapy procedure. It is used to freeze genital warts and other skin diseases at the cellular level. The super-cooled fluid is sprayed onto the warts. A blister then starts to form around the treated wart. After a few days, the wound heals. Both the blister and the wart then fall off. It often takes more than one cryotherapy session to completely eliminate all of the genital warts.

Because cryotherapy is not as invasive as other procedures but is highly effective in treating the symptoms of genital warts, it is quite popular. Aside from these benefits, cryotherapy is also known to carry a few side effects that are not so dangerous such as scarring and mild skin irritation. The only major concern is that the nearby areas of the skin that are healthy may become damaged.

Interferon may also be used to freeze warts aside from liquid nitrogen. It is an anti-viral chemical that is injected directly into the genital warts. The interferon method is only used in severe cases of genital warts. In addition, the said procedure is more expensive than that which utilizes liquid nitrogen. The interferon method is also more complicated hence it must be done by a skilled medical practitioner. When genital warts continue to resurface after every successful treatment, interferon is usually the chemical of choice. Similar to liquid nitrogen, interferon will only get rid of the symptoms of genital warts and not guarantee that they won't recur anymore.

Usually, patients who go through cryotherapy feel little to average pain as well as experience a little redness in the treated area. This side effect can be counteracted through the oral intake of pain relievers such as aspirin or ibuprofen as well as the use of topical steroids in the form of creams or ointments. Another side effect is the development of blisters. However, these will eventually form into scabs and then peel away over time.

If you currently have genital warts and you want to undergo treatments with the goal of completely getting rid of them, you have to bear in mind that the virus that causes those warts called the human papillomavirus (HPV) has no cure yet. HPV has been found to "sleep" in our system, meaning it can lie dormant for a long period of time without any of its symptoms manifesting. Cryotherapy will definitely not get rid of the virus. Its only guarantee is that it will remove the external warts. With the virus still in your system, you may experience the recurrence of genital warts from time to time.

In addition, if you already have had genital warts, it means that you certainly have HPV in your system and that you can pass it from another person through direct skin contact. Another bad news is that in women, some strains of HPV that are present in their body may cause not only genital warts, but also cervical cancer.