Herpes and Genital Warts Forum - Treatment for genital warts

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Q: Treatment for genital warts

asked by: DoctorQuestion on October 17th, 2009

Me and my girlfriend have been diagnosed with HPV virus,and it has caused genital warts. We are in a monogamous relationship and trust each other fully and know this is the only thing we have and share it.My question is can we have sexual intercourse with this virus without making anything worse. Such as can we have sex even during an outbreak and not make the warts themselves worse or disable healing. We have both received treatment and according to my doctor it is okay to have sex as long as we both have HPV and as long as all the medication is washed off before we do. So when and when can we not have sex. My Dr. said it was more important to not be stressed because that brings on outbreaks so sex would actually be a good thing. Also does Imiquimod or podophyllotoxin work faster? And about how long can they take as least amount of time and most possible. This is new to us and neither of our outbreaks are very bad. Thank you so much for your time

Replies(2)

Dr. Goce Aleksovski , MD

replied on October 20th, 2009

Herpes and Genital Warts Answer A7545

Genital warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). It is transmitted with direct skin contact through genital, oral or anal intercourse.

The transmission of HPV is required for genital warts to appear, but what actually triggers them is not quite understood. Avoiding intercourse while the warts are damaged or bleeding is recommended.

The genital warts are treated with a number of treatments, certain of which are applied by the patient and others have to be applied by a doctor. Both Imiquimod and podophyllotoxin have their pros and cons. For example, imiquimod causes less irritation than podophyllotoxin, but it might cause fungal infection.

The time needed for the warts to disappear is different in every patient, but generally it might take weeks up to a few months of treatment for the warts to completely disappear. Please note, that an outburst of new warts is also possible. When and if they will appear cannot be determined for sure, because the factors that contribute to the outburst are not well studied. The same fact stands for the length of treatment.

You might want to visit a dermatologist for additional information and advices about treatment for genital warts.

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