There are a lot of products available in the market nowadays that guarantee to eliminate your genital warts. However, it is important to know that the treatment that these products are talking about only refers to the removal of symptoms of genital warts. These available treatments merely get rid of the physical appearance of the warts. The virus responsible for genital warts, namely human papillomavirus (HPV), remains because there is still no cure for it. Thus, the best way of dealing with genital warts is prevention since treatment is very difficult.
It is a known fact that human papillomavirus is sexually transmitted. However, the virus does not need the exchange of fluids during sexual intercourse in order to be passed from one individual to another. Instead, HPV is spread through skin-to-skin contact with other people infected with the virus. Thus, you may use barrier protection such as condoms in order to reduce your chances of contracting HPV. These forms of protection, however, do not promise a 100 percent chance because they do not cover the genital region completely. What this means is that you can still catch the virus and get genital warts even if you are engaging in protected sex.
Immunization is another method by which you can prevent genital warts. However, this method only applies to women. In June 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer and other diseases caused by HPV for public use. After this, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the vaccine for use of women ages 9 to 26. This vaccine is commonly known as Gardasil. Gardasil is designed to protect women against four strains of HPV. These four strains all together amount to 70 percent of the cases of cervical cancer and 90 percent of genital warts cases.
You may also use prescription and/or over-the-counter medications to combat your genital warts. Examples of these include pondofilox, trichloracetic acid (TCA), and imiquimod. As mentioned before, these medications are only designed to eliminate the symptoms of genital warts and not to totally cure them. A lot of medical practitioners discourage the use of these medications because most of them have strong chemicals that, when not used properly, will definitely cause harm to our sensitive genitals.
If you find that these treatments are not effective for your case, your physician may recommend that you undergo major procedures to get rid of your genital warts, such as alpha-interferon injections, cryosurgery (freezing), CO2 laser surgery, and loop electrosurgical excision procedure.
It is vital to understand that even if the treatment for warts that you underwent was highly successful in eliminating the symptoms, your genital warts might recur because no cure has been found for the root cause of the problem, which is the human papillomavirus. Studies have shown that HPV can sleep in your system for a long period, and this may bring about the outbreak of another episode of genital warts.
However, it is good to know that the recurrence of genital warts happens in different levels of persistence. Some people will undergo several recurrences, while others will only have a few. This implies that our immune system gets some hold of the HPV, thus lowering our chances of getting recurrent episodes. In fact, in many cases, the probability of genital warts resurfacing get completely eliminated after two years.

Genital warts are one of the most common forms of sexually transmitted disease. These warts appear as small flesh-colored bumps that are raised and shaped like cauliflowers. Genital warts may start as tiny lesions that are approximately 2 millimeters in diameter. Then, they eventually grow and expand into bigger masses.
In men, genital warts develop on and around the scrotum, anus area, and penis shaft. In women, they are usually found in and out of the vagina, uterus, cervix, and around the anus. For both genders, genital warts may manifest around the throat and mouth areas especially when the individual has previously engaged in sexual intercourse with another infected person.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the virus that is responsible for genital warts. There are a total of 100 strains of HPV. However, only 30 strains can infect our genital region. These 30 strains are what we call genital HPV, which can affect approximately 50 percent of women and men who are sexually active.
Two types of HPV exist: low-risk and high-risk. High-risk HPV may bring about cancer of the vagina, cervix, anus, throat, or penis. This type of HPV is not related to the type that causes genital warts. Type 16 HPV is related to approximately half of all the cases of cervical cancer. Types 45, 31, 18, and 16 all together are related to 80 percent of the cases of cervical cancer.
Low-risk HPV is the one that leads to genital warts. To be specific, approximately 90 percent of the cases of genital warts are caused by types 11 and 6 of HPV. Low-risk HPV is often hard to detect since it does not manifest any symptoms. In fact, a lot of people are carriers of HPV but they are not aware of it. Thus, the risk of transmitting HPV becomes even higher. It would be for your own good if you undergo regular check-ups so that you would know whether or not you have the virus.
The most common method through which genital warts can be transferred from one person to another is through sexual intercourse with an infected person. Experts estimate that approximately 66 percent of those who engage in sex with an infected individual will have genital warts either through oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Childbirth is another way by which genital warts can be transmitted. When the infant passes through a woman’s infected birth canal, there is a possibility that he/she can develop warts inside his/her mouth and throat. This is called laryngeal papillomatosis.
The probability of genital warts occurring as well as other HPV-related illnesses are further increased by some risk factors. These risk factors include having many sex partners, becoming sexually active at an early age, having STDs in the past, and engaging in sexual intercourse with an individual even though you are not aware of his/her sexual history. The use of oral contraceptives such as birth control pills may also increase your chances of having genital warts because of decreased protected sexual intercourse.
Smoking, excessive stress, and alcohol consumption may also raise your chances of contracting genital warts. Moreover, a compromised immunity against diseases is a risk factor. Thus, those who have undergone physical trauma through surgery and other invasive procedures as well as those who have had serious diseases such as cervical cancer will most probably have genital warts.