Freezing Genital Warts

When we talk about freezing genital warts, we are usually referring to the medical procedure called Cryotherapy which involves the use of extreme cold in order to destroy abnormal growths on our skin such as genital warts. Genital warts cryotherapy is one of the most effective treatment methods for genital warts and if you decide to go ahead with this method, then your doctor will be able to carry out the procedure in his surgery. Cryotherapy is usually done when genital warts are visible, when they are growing in a small area (especially near the anus), when you are pregnant or when they are in a difficult-to-access area. Genital warts cryotherapy is not usually undertaken when genital warts are widespread.

What is cryotherapy?

Liquid nitrogen is the main chemical used to freeze genital warts and it works on the genital warts at the cellular level. The super-cooled liquid is applied to the genital wart and a blister then forms around it. If there is more than one genital wart, your doctor will go on to treat these too. After several days, the skin heals and then both the genital wart and the blister fall off.

What happens after the genital warts cryotherapy?

Be prepared for several cryotherapy sessions as sometimes this is what it takes before the warts are completely eliminated. It takes time and patience but in the end, it will work. Apart from its efficient elimination of your genital warts, this genital warts cryotherapy is used because it is minimally invasive. The side effects are relatively harmless such as mild skin irritation and scarring. The main concern is that adjoining tissue may get damaged. Most patients who undergo cryotherapy suffer little to moderate pain and redness in the local area. Even this can be reduced by taking a mild pain reliever or if you are really concerned about the actual procedure, your doctor can use a local anesthetic. Genital warts cryotherapy is well tolerated even by those who are not good candidates for other surgical procedures.

During the healing period, you should avoid sexual intercourse until the treated area heals and any soreness has gone. This can be anything from 1-3 weeks. Even then, practice safe sex and inform your sexual partner of your HPV status so that he or she can make an informed decision about how you go forward with you sexual relationship.

When you have had genital wart cryotherapy, you should call your doctor if you experience problems post cryotherapy such as:

If you are female, you may well have a watery vaginal discharge for a couple of weeks and you should use sanitary napkins rather than tampons for this time. Also avoid any douching until the treated area heals.

Interferon freezes genital warts too

Another method of freezing genital warts is through the anti viral drug interferon which is directly injected into the warts. For the most part, this method is only used in the more severe cases. It is an expensive procedure and because it is somewhat complicated, it must be performed by a doctor. Interferon may become necessary if genital warts keep returning even after extensive other methods of treatment.

What you need to know about the virus that caused your genital warts

If you have genital warts, you will need to know that they are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV for short) and that this virus, once it is present in your skin, is with you for life. There is no cure for HPV. It can even lie dormant for a long time, even years, without showing any symptoms. If you are carrying HPV, this is a sexually transmitted disease and you can pass it on to your sexual partner even in spite of using a condom. If you are female, some strains of HPV may even cause cervical cancer. This is why it is important to have a regular Pap smear test as such tests will immediately detect any abnormality in your cervical tissue so that treatment can be commenced at the pre-cancerous stage.