Genital Warts (Human Papillomavirus)

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Medicine may be used to destroy bothersome genital warts, relieve your symptoms, and reduce the amount of area affected by warts, particularly when the warts are:

  • Visible, bothersome, and growing in a small area.
  • A cosmetic concern and you want them removed. Warts that are growing around the anus or on external genitals, such as on the penis or vulva, may be removed because they are unsightly. Some treatments that remove genital warts are more likely to leave scars. So cosmetic concerns about scarring may help guide the choice of treatment.

Topical medicine often is the first treatment. For safety, a doctor will apply the topical medicines that could damage the skin around the warts. You can apply other medicines at home. If warts return after one course of treatment with topical medicine, they are treated again only if there are clear reasons for retreatment.

Medicines are not used to treat abnormal cell changes found on a Pap test. For more information on treating abnormal cell changes caused by high-risk HPV, see the topic Abnormal Pap Test.

Medication Choices

Treatment applied at home

The following medicines can be applied to the affected area (topical treatment) at home:

Imiquimod (such as Aldara)
Podofilox lotion or gel (such as Condylox)
Sinecatechins (such as Veregen)

Do not use these medicines during pregnancy.

Imiquimod and podofilox appear to be the most effective medicine options that can be applied at home. Read the instructions carefully before using these medicines.

Treatment applied by a doctor

Treatment by a doctor can:

  • Treat areas that you cannot reach easily.
  • Treat a large area.
  • Remove the warts quickly.
  • Be expensive.
  • Be painful.
  • Have side effects.

Medicines applied by a doctor include:

Treatment during pregnancy

Treatment for pregnant women includes trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and bichloroacetic acid (BCA), which have been found to be both effective and safe. Podophyllin resin, interferon, and fluorouracil should not be used during pregnancy because they can harm the fetus.

What to Think About

Avoid sexual contact in the treated area until the area is completely healed.

Some medicine may be more expensive than others.

Warts on the vulva or penis that do not go away on their own or after treatment often are biopsied to rule out precancerous or cancerous conditions.

Recurrence

Removing genital warts does not cure an HPV infection. Although warts may go away with topical treatment, they may return because the HPV virus may still be in the body's cells.

Even if genital warts have been removed or destroyed:

  • You may still be able to infect sex partners with HPV.
  • You should continue to use condoms during sexual intercourse if you have multiple sex partners.
By: Healthwise StaffLast Revised: June 28, 2010
Medical Review: Sarah Anne Marshall, MD - Family Medicine
Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH - Infectious Disease

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

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