Genital warts are highly contagious sexually transmitted infections caused by some sub types of human papillomavirus or HPV. HPV generally infects the epidermis or outer skin and the mucous membranes of sexually active men and women and approximately 130 strains of HPV have so far been identified. Out of them, strains 6, 11, 30, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52 and 54 cause genital warts, among all these, subtypes 6 and 11 are responsible for 90% of the genital warts cases.

It is important to identify genital warts first. It should not be confused with Mulluscum contagiosum, which is also transmitted sexually. Another similar infection is Fordyce’s spots. Many prefer not to see doctors, but to treat genital warts themselves with the help of off the rack creams and lotions. Before you start treating genital warts yourself, do see a doctor just to make sure what you have is genital warts and nothing else. Syphilis and hirsuties pappilaries genitalis should also be ruled out along with Mulluscum contagiosum and Fordyce’s spots before you start treating genital warts.

Genital warts are spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during genital, anal or oral sex. Having sex with a partner infected with HPV is the only way one can get these warts. Since HPV, infection does not always manifest itself into warts one does not know if the partner is infected with HPV.  In fact, the HPV infected person himself will not know that he has been infected with HPV. Less than 1% of those infected with HPV develop noticeable genital warts. However, the latent HPV strains too have the same potential to infect sexual partners as manifested genital warts.

You are safe from genitals wart only if you have sex with a single partner, who also does not have any other sexual partner except you. Therefore, people with multiple sexual partners should take a vaccine before undertaking sexual activity. Gardasil, marketed by Mark & Co is a vaccine that protects one from HPV of subtypes 16, 18, 6 and 11. Therefore, it can protect you from 90% of genital wart cases.

HPV has no cure, but there is treatment for genital warts.
1.    One way to treat genital warts is to freeze them by cryotherapy.
2.    It can also be treated through laser therapy.
3.    Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) can also remove warts. In this method, the wart is simply cut out from the skin.
4.    Chemicals like 20% podophyllin anti- mitotic solution or trichloroacetic acid can be applied to the affected area and washed off. Such chemicals need repeated applications before you can see any improvement
5.    Chemicals that you buy off the rack to remove warts from limbs should not be used in the vaginal area because that will make the area sore.

Many sufferers of genital warts do not want to see a doctor and prefer homeopathic and or herbal medicines. Embarrassment is one of the reasons why they avoid mainstream doctors, other reasons being the painful method of removing warts by allopathic means and their admission that they cannot cure HPV. Naturopathic medicines, on the other hand claim to be painless and at the same time, there are medications, which claim to cure HPV. At least most of the naturopathic creams and lotions claim that a wart once removed will not reappear.

Applying genital warts cream is a popular method of treating the same. Podophyllotoxin solution, immiquimod and sinecatechins are all used as self-applied genital warts cream. These are available on prescriptions only and many sufferers who do not want to see doctors out of embarrassment cannot avail them. For them there are many naturopathic creams sold over the webs.

Most of such creams claim that they have no side effects, as they contain no harsh formula. Wartrol is one such cream, which claims to be 97% successful in healing genital warts. It also claims to have no side effect. It uses the natural healing system of the body to cure genital warts. Actually, if anything can cure HPV, the root cause of genital warts, is the body’s natural immune system. Wartrol claims to use that immune system to cure genital warts. During the trial period, visible warts relief was seen in approximately 3 weeks and complete wart relief was seen in 4 to 6 months, depending upon the severity of the attack.

There are many other creams and lotions, which claims to be 100% safe and to have high percentage of success in treating genital warts. Terrasil is another such genital wart cream, which claims to go to the root of the wart and kill the HPV. Therefore, there is no dearth of counter medicines for the treatment for genital warts and there is no reason why you should suffer so.