Genital warts are caused by sexual contact with a person who may be suffering from genital warts or a germ (virus) called as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Most of the time genital warts or condylomas have no symptom i.e., they have no itching, burning or pain. In some patients these complaints are associated with genital warts. Even if your warts aren't causing discomfort, you may still need the treatment.These warts are caused by a dangerous germ or virus known as human papilla virus or HPV. There are more than 15 different types of HPV viruses and some of HPV viruses can cause cancer of the female womb's opening (cervical os) known as 'cervical cancer'. So if you are a male and have condylomas or genital warts, you can potentially transmit this HPV virus to your spouse or sexual partner and she can then develop cervical cancer or cancer of the opening of the uterus. It is, therefore, strongly recommended that all patients with genital warts must get their sexual partners examined. We ensure that for your privacy and comfort, male doctors are available for male patients and female doctors.
Those females who are at risk of getting an HPV infection must get vaccinated against HPV virus and can get immunity against HPV and thus can prevent cervical cancer In Sha Allah. Vaccination against HPV is strongly recommended by Center for Disease control in USA. To read more about HPV and CDC recommendations click here. We do provide vaccination against HPV in Lahore Pakistan, after our doctors determine the need of vaccination in your case. Also, we strongly recommend the female spouses of the patients who have or what treated the genital warts to get checked internally by our female dermatologists to ensure they do not have hidden genital warts and get at least annual Pap smear. It is a small test in which a scraping is gently taken as a sample of cells from the opening of the womb. It is sent to the lab to ensue no cancer cells are present. Early detection of any cancer can InshAllah prevent the complete recovery and so is the case with cervical cancer as well. In many patients genital warts can cause emotional distress and your doctor can help you clear an outbreak with medications that can be used at home, with a state-of-the-art and standard of care cryotherapy or cryosurgery or ultimately with surgery if nothing else works.. However, the lesions may recur after treatment, as many patients get the infection for their sexual partner again - as the sexual partner still carried the disease. so it is imperative that both the sexual partners are treated at the same time to prevent recurrence of the disease.

Medications

Genital warts treatments that can be applied directly to your skin include:

Imiquimod (Aldara, Zyclara). This cream appears to boost your immune system's ability to fight genital warts. Avoid sexual contact while the cream is on your skin. It may weaken condoms and diaphragms and may irritate your partner's skin.

Podophyllin and podofilox (Condylox). Podophyllin is a plant-based resin that destroys genital wart tissue. Your doctor must apply this solution. Podofilox contains the same active compound, but can be safely applied by you at home. Your doctor may want to administer the first application of podofilox, and will recommend precautionary steps to prevent the medication from irritating surrounding skin. Never apply podofilox internally. Additionally, this medication isn't recommended for use during pregnancy.

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA). This chemical treatment burns off genital warts. TCA must always be applied by a doctor.

Don't try to treat genital warts with over-the-counter wart removers. These medications aren't intended for use in the moist tissues of the genital area. Using over-the-counter medications for this purpose can cause even more pain and irritation as most contain different strengths of an acid called as Salicylic acid. This acid actually burns your skin like any other acid and thus the wart is in other words "burnt", leaving and a wound and eventually an ugly scar. So these over-the-counter medications are best avoided and proper treatment by a well qualified dermatologist must be sought for proper diagnosis and treatment. Not only does the patient need the treatment, his/her spouse or the sexual partner must be checked for any wart and should be simultaneously treated, as it may be a potential source of re-infection.