How to Get Rid of Genital Warts?

Genital warts are a contagious sexually transmitted disease. It is spread through direct skin to skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. Sexually active people who have unprotected sex are at risk of getting the virus that causes genital warts. As of yet, there is no cure for genital warts, although genital warts often clear up on their own.

Method 1 of 2: Diagnosing Genital Warts and Other Information

1. Know that 90% of genital warts are caused by two strains of the HPV virus.[1] When a person gets genital warts, it's usually because they have contracted a form of HPV, or the human papilloma virus. Unfortunately, while there is no cure yet for HPV, the body often clears itself of HPV over time.[2]

• Not all kinds of HPV will lead to genital warts. Genital warts may appear anytime from 6 weeks to 6 months after sexual contact, although they may not be noticed for years.
• Know that certain types of high-risk HPV strains can lead to cervical or anal cancer, although these strains are rarer.

2. Know what genital warts look like. Genital warts are soft growths on and around the genital and anal area. Generally, the genital warts are flesh-colored and can be either raised or flat, larger or smaller, and look like the tops of cauliflower.[3] Genital warts can look show up in different places depending on the gender of the patient:


Genital warts in females can be found:

•     Inside the vagina or anus
•     Outside the vagina or anus
•     On the cervix, inside the body

Genital warts in males can be found on the:

•     Penis
•     Anus
•     Scrotum
•     Groin area, including the thighs

3. Know the rarer symptoms of genital warts. Rarely, genital warts can cause symptoms not commonly associated with genital warts. These symptoms include:

• Increased moisture in and around the genital area
• Bleeding after sex
• Increased vaginal discharge
• Itching in the genital area

4. Let a doctor examine your case if you think you have genital warts. A doctor will need to diagnose genital warts before allowing you to continue treatment. A doctor will diagnose through a visual exam and a pelvic examination in women. Several pap smear tests might need to be taken if an abnormal test appears, which is often the case with genital warts.


Method 2 of 2: Treating Genital Warts

1. Know that many cases of HPV and genital warts will clear up on their own, although this is not always the case. Women, especially, may be vulnerable to contracting HPV.[3] Many men who are exposed to HPV never show any symptoms or problems associated with genital warts. Men (and women) who are exposed to HPV and do not show signs can still pass on the infection through unprotected sexual contact.

2. Treat the genital warts with several types of prescription and non-prescription creams. Do not treat genital warts the way you would a wart on your finger or foot. After obtaining a diagnosis from your doctor, you may receive one of several common topical creams used to treat genital warts:

• Podofilox. Podofilox, or Condylox, is a solution or a gel that is applied to the affected area. It is used in cycles for several weeks until the wart falls off. It clears about 45% to 90% of warts, although research shows that warts may reemerge in 30% to 60% of cases.[2]
• Skinhale. Skinhale, is a non-prescription cream that contains cedar oil and thuja occidentalis which has been proven to treat genital warts. [4]
• Imiquimod. Imiquimod, or Aldara, is a topical immune response cream. It is applied to the wart and it causes less irritation compared to podofilox. In 70% to 85% of cases the initial warts are removed, but in 5% to 20% of cases the warts come back.[2]
• Veregen and Polyphenon E. These are ointments extracted from green tea and other components. They are approved by the FDA to fight against genital warts.[5]

3. Discuss other options with your doctor. If your genital warts don't respond to topical creams, your doctor might want to opt for several different strategies. Creams seem to respond better to warts that are on moist surfaces, while the following generally work better for warts on dry surfaces:

• Cryotherapy. Using liquid nitrogen, cryotherapy freezes the wart so that it eventually falls off. It helps remove warts, but there is no guarantee they will not come back anymore.
• Surgical removal. Minor surgery is conducted by an expert physician and administered with use of local or general anesthesia. The surgeon cuts off the cells of the wart with a scalpel.
• Trichloracetic acid. Common in uses for chemical peels and tattoo removal, trichloracetic acid is a chemical applied to the wart, effectively burning it off.
• Electrocautery. This procedure, less common than the other procedures, involves using an electric current to burn off warts.
• Laser surgery. Not advisable for use in all areas, laser surgery is often the last resort of none of the methods work.

4. Your doctor might give you two or more options to remove genital warts. You’ll have to consider the discomfort that comes along with the procedure. Some people even turn to homeopathic treatment to save money and visit to the doctor. Whatever treatment it may be, it is still best than not having any treatment at all. Have it done before it gets worse.

5. Give your treatment time to work. As stated previously, many of the above treatments, along with a little bit of patience, will see the genital warts removed. If, however, three separate courses of treatment by your doctor, or six doctor-approved home treatments fail to remove your genital warts, your doctor will want to re-evaluate your course of treatment.

Tips

• A diagnosis of HPV or genital warts in one person does not necessarily mean that person was sexually unfaithful to a partner.
• Genital warts are very common. Most people, over their lifetimes, will end up with genital warts without even knowing it.
• Podofilox can be administered to the infected person
• Liquid nitrogen is used in cryotherapy
• HPV does not affect the general health of a pregnant woman or her ability to bring her baby to term.

Sources and Citations

1. http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2010/genital-warts.htm
2. http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/hpv-treatment-is-there-hpv-cure
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001889/
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764712/
5. http://www.drugs.com/history/veregen.html

Article from: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Genital-Warts

How to Get Rid of Plantar Warts (Verrucas)?

Plantar warts (sometimes called Verucas) can be annoying, or they can be downright painful. In any case, they can be stubborn and hard to remove.

They are a variant of HPV - the Human Papilloma Virus - and on their own, can take quite a while to disappear. If you don't have a couple years to wait it out, there are a few things you can do to remove those unsightly warts. Start at Step 1 and read all of the first method to find some ways you can try to remove these warts at home, or skip to the second method to read about some doctor-administered techniques.

Method 1 of 2: Home Remedies

1. Try salicylic acid and duct tape. Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in most over-the-counter wart remedies such as Compound W, Ocusal, and WartStick.

• Wash your foot well, then soak your foot for about 20 minutes.
• Use a pumice stone or emery board to gently remove dead skin.
• Swab the area around the wart with rubbing alcohol or alcohol pad. This will help the tape stick to your skin, then apply the the wart removal product liberally to your wart.
• Cover wart completely with duct tape or the tape part of waterproof band-aid. (Cut off and discard the pad). Leave it on for six days.
• On the evening of the sixth day, remove the patch, and repeat the soaking and emery board process.
• Leave the wart uncovered overnight, and if the wart is not gone, make a new duct tape patch and go for another six days.

2. Try cryotherapy. While not as powerful as a doctor's liquid nitrogen treatment, cryotherapy products such as Compound W Freeze Off or Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away Wart Remover can be purchased over the counter, without a prescription. Still, they've been know to be effective, if somewhat more painful than a doctor's methods.

3. Use apple cider vinegar. This has had some success, as the mild acid helps dissolve the wart.

• Soak the wart in apple cider vinegar for twenty minutes.
• Use a pumice stone or emery board to gently remove dead skin.
• Protect the skin around the wart by applying a thin coat of petroleum jelly, leaving the wart exposed.
• Soak a cotton pad or cotton ball with apple cider vinegar, and secure it to the wart with an adhesive bandage.
• Replace the bandage daily until the wart is gone.

4. Use podophyllum. This ointment is a plant extract that goes by many names, including American mandrake, Himalayan mayapple, and Devil's apple. It may work by killing the infected skin cells, but it's toxic, so to be avoided by pregnant or nursing mothers.

Method 2 of 2: Doctor Remedies

1. Use cryotherapy. Similar to home remedies, doctor-administered cryotherapy works by freezing the wart off, only with liquid nitrogen.

• The nitrogen freeze-burns the skin, causing it to blister, then slough off after about a week. It's not without some pain, both in the application of the nitrogen, and in the subsequent blisters, but it can be a very effective solution.

2. Use cantharidin. This is similar to the salicylic method above, only with the addition of cantharidin, which is a substance extracted from a blister beetle.

• A mixture of salicylic acid and cantharidin is applied to the wart, and covered with a bandage. In about a week, the doctor will remove the dead part of the wart. This method also involves a bit of pain from the blister.

3. Try immunotherapy. For really stubborn warts, your physician may try immunotherapy, or getting your body's immune defenses assigned to attacking your wart.

• Injecting interferon into the wart triggers an immune system response that will "reject" the wart. You may experience flu-like systems for a few hours after treatment.
• Injecting an antigen (commonly, mumps antigens) will similarly trigger an immune response that will kill the wart.

4. Use imiquimod. This is a prescription cream that triggers your body to release proteins (cytokines) that will attack HPV.

• Imiquimod can cause severe inflammation and tissue damage near the wart, and should be discontinued if that occurs.

5. Try laser treatments. These precisely-targeted lasers will cauterize the capillaries carrying blood to the wart, starving it and causing it to die. It can be painful and even scarring, but has a good chance of destroying the wart.

6. Consider Minor surgery. When all else fails, the doctor can try cutting the wart out. They will use an anesthetic, of course, otherwise the pain would be significant, and this can lead to scarring. But again, if it relieves pain and gets rid of the wart, it's probably worth it.

Tips

Put garden lime mixed to a paste with water on the plantar wart. Allow to dry. Rest off your feet. Repeat daily or more often for a few days. The warts will dry out and disappear. Can be used on small children without injury pain or burning. Three days of constant treatment was successful.

This cure for warts is in the C.W.A Cookery Book and Household Hints.

• Wear clean, laundered thoroughly dried socks. Change them each day.
• Buy Domeboro solution (a powder that you mix with water). It is slightly acidic. Soak foot with plantar wart twice a day for about a week. The wart virus cannot live in the acidic atmosphere.
• Eating apples help.
• If you suffer from diabetes, nerve damage in your feet, or a compromised immune system, seek treatment under a doctor's supervision so they can carefully monitor your progress.[1]

Warnings

Don't hurt yourself by digging in your foot with a needle.


Things You'll Need

Wart removing band-aids


Article from: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Plantar-Warts-(Verrucas)

How to Remove Warts Naturally Using Garlic?

A wart is a tricky thing to remove, especially with all of the choices you have with products. Products to treat warts nowadays are rather expensive, so that leaves home remedies as an option. Turns out, one of the best solutions is a home remedy! With a few easy and quick steps, and a clove of garlic, your warts will be gone in no time.

Things You'll Need:

1 Clove of garlic
Knife
Cotton balls.

Steps:

1. Before you begin, wash and dry your hands thoroughly.

2. Peel a fresh garlic clove and slice into two halves. Rub the garlic on the wart, covering the wart completely while taking care not to place the garlic on surrounding skin, as that will make the skin fall off instead of the wart itself.

3. Place a large bandage over the wart. Cover the area that was rubbed completely. Leave the bandage on overnight, being careful not to pick at the bandage or wart.

4. The next day, repeat the process again, leaving the bandage on all day and night. Change in the mornings.

5. When used properly, the wart should "fall off" within 2-6 weeks. If you constantly mess with the bandage, the process will take longer.

Tips

Leave the garlic on the wart for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the size of the wart.
Before applying to warts on the face or genitals, ask a doctor.
Be consistent! Don't use it for two days, then stop, and use it a week later. This will delay the time that the wart will be off.
Change the bandage often. It is unsanitary to keep the bandage on too long.

Warnings

Do not apply too long. Applying to long may provoke scarring, reddening of the wart and the skin around it, and burn marks.



Article from: http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Warts-Naturally-Using-Garlic