Genital Warts

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Medical Roles: What Type of Doctor Removes Genital Warts?

March 29th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Having genital warts isn’t necessarily a death sentence, but this sexually transmitted disease can put quite a crimp in your lifestyle. You can blame the human papilloma virus (HPV) as the primary contributor to all types of warts, particularly ones of the genital varieties.

Like many other people, you may not know that you even have them, particularly if you are a woman and these warts are located inside the cervix. Only through a doctor’s examination can these particular warts be diagnosed. However, others can be detected via the naked eye and should be examined by a doctor to determine treatment options. However, most people do not know what type of doctor removes genital warts.

Genital Warts in Females

Ladies are lucky in that, for the most part, their primary care physician is a gynecologist in an OB/GYN practice. Most of the time, ladies require a doctor because of “female” issues and those are best treated by a gynecologist rather than an internist or family doctor. Therefore, if you are a female, you don’t have far to go in regards to knowing what type of doctor removes genital warts! Gynecologists deal with any health issue regarding a woman’s vaginal areas and reproductive system and that includes sexually transmitted diseases like the warts.

Genital Warts in Males

Males have a slightly tougher time getting to the right doctor to examine and treat their genital warts. Men do not like going to the doctor so when they finally break down and go, chances are that the doctor is an internist or a doctor in a family practice. While an internist or family doctor could be included in what type of doctor removes genital warts, chances are that they will take one look and send you to an urologist. A urologist is a doctor that treats various disorders of the male reproductive system and urinary tract as well as any issues dealing with sexually transmitted diseases.

Other Things to Know Regarding What Type of Doctor Removes Genital Warts

Most treatments for genital warts can be conducted in the doctor’s offices, whether they are a gynecologist or urologist. Cryotherapy (freezing the warts off), electrocautery (using electricity to burn off the warts) and various topical ointments can be applied and performed outside of a hospital setting.

However, if laser therapy is the option chosen for treatment, then the question of what type of doctor removes genital warts comes up again. Most doctors do not have the equipment or proper training to handle the method of treatment. Therefore, a plastic surgeon well-versed in laser therapies is often called upon to perform the genital wart removal.

Understanding What Are Genital Warts

March 27th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

There is a lot of information that goes into understanding what are genital warts. An overview of what are genital warts provides the simple explanation that they are flesh-colored or gray growths that both men and women can get in the genital and anal region. Genital warts is also the most common sexually transmitted disease as a result of a virus. Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV. At first an infection of genital warts is not obvious.

Both men and women can get genital warts at any age. Those between the ages of seventeen and thirty-three are the most common patients with genital warts. They are high contagious and there is a sixty percent risk of getting genital warts with just one sexual contact with someone else who has genital warts. In children genital warts can occur through nonsexual modes such as direct manual contact. However, the presence of genital warts in children is always cause for suspicion of sexual abuse.

What Are Genital Warts Caused By

Genital warts are caused by the a virus called the human papillomavirus or HPV. There are over a hundred different types of this virus that have been identified and over forty of these viruses can infect the genital area. Although ninety percent of genital warts are caused by two types of the HPV virus, number six and eleven. Both of these types are considered low risk, meaning they don’t have a high cancer causing potential. Then there is HPV 16 which is responsible for fifty percent of the cervical cancer cases and types 16, 18, 31 and 45 have accounted for eighty percent of other cancers.

More specifically when considering what are genital warts caused by, they result when the viral particles are able to penetrate the skin or mucosal surfaces through any microscopic abrasions in the genital area which can occur during sexual activity. After the HPV virus invades cells there is a latency period of several months to years. Although most of the time two-thirds of people who had sexual contact with a partner with genital warts developed the warts themselves within three months.

Another aspect of what are genital warts caused by that many are not aware of is the fact that genital warts are associated with the use of birth control pills due to increased sexual contact without barrier protection, multiple sex partners and having sex when an individual is too young.

Ways Of Treating Genital Warts

March 25th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Since there is no cure for genital warts it is important to focus on treating genital warts to make them more comfortable to live with. There is little need to choose self-care at home since genital warts typically have no symptoms, but you do need to recognize that genital warts exist. When treating genital warts you should take the necessary precautions to avoid trauma to the area since this can result in bleeding. You should also make sure you don’t transmit the disease to your sexual partners. You should also avoid touching the warts since they are infectious, therefore do not squeeze or pick the warts.

Medical Options

While there is not specific treatment that can eliminate genital warts and prevent them from coming back, you can reduce the chance of blockage or complications by removing genital warts through medical options. However, genital warts may go away on their own after about three to four months in about ten to twenty percent of people.

One medical option is cryotherapy which freezes the warts using liquid nitrogen. This is an excellent first-line treatment for treating genital warts and the response rates are high with few side effects. Another option is electrodesiccation which uses an electric current to destroy the warts. This procedure can be done in the doctors office with local anesthesia, but the resulting smoke plume can be infectious.

The final medical option is laser treatment. This option for treating genital warts is often used when there is extensive or recurrent genital warts. The procedure sometimes requires local, regional or general anesthesia. A laser is used to physically destroy the wart. However, the disadvantages of this option are the high cost, increased healing time, scarring and potentially infectious viral particles that can be released into the air by the laser plume.

Surgery Options

Surgery can be used to cut away the warts and it is often done as an office procedure with local anesthesia. This option for treating genital warts is typically only used when they are small in size and number. This treatment technique has the highest success rate with the lowest recurrence rate. The success rates for this treatment method is 63 to 91 percent.

Outlook

Most of the time after treating genital warts they will come back even with a good initial response and in some cases the genital warts won’t even respond to treatment. Often the recurrence rates are over fifty percent within one year of treatment. Most of the recurrence has been linked to several factors including recurrent infection from sexual partner, a long incubation time of HPV, the persistence of the virus in the nearby skin, hair follicle or sites that missed treatment and lesions that are deep or undetected.

General Warning Signs of Genital Warts

March 23rd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Genitals warts are one of those things that you simply do not speak of in public and likely don’t even think about unless your doctor brings up the subject. Genital warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) which just happens to be closely linked as the cause of many cases of cervical cancer as well as other types of cancer in the genitals. This virus is transmitted sexually so you have to have had direct sexual contact with someone infected and not everyone shows signs of genital warts.

It is so important to trade sexual histories with potential partners so as to avoid contracting any sexually transmitted disease (STD) like genital warts. In addition, protective sex with a condom is also paramount in avoiding the HPV virus. However, not everyone knows they have these warts and could inadvertently pass along the infection to you, so you should know the signs of genital warts in case they ever happen to you.

General Signs of Genital Warts

Typically, it could take as long as a month for signs of genital warts to appear after being exposed to HPV, although sometimes it may take much longer. Most genital warts are not painful, but they can produce an itchy sensation, especially when clothing rubs on them. Just like warts on a finger or toe, these genital warts could have a rough texture and cauliflower-like appearance. In addition, some warts have been completely flat while others may be almost invisible, only detectable by a doctor.

For men, signs of genital warts may occur in various places in the genital area such as the penis, urethra and rectum. In actuality, these warts could be inside the urethra or even underneath the foreskin of the penis. In females, signs of genital warts may appear near the rectum, near the urethra, inside the vagina or even on the lips of the vulva. In both men and women, other signs of genital warts include discolored swelling at the wart sites and even painful intercourse with or without abnormal bleeding.

The invisible warts may cause general itching which you may not attribute to genital warts because they may either look like an innocuous bump or just a small rough patch of skin. Therefore, only a doctor can truly determine whether or not you have the warts by conducting a skin test.

Treatment of Genital Warts

There are a number of both surgical and topical treatments for genital warts and while these won’t totally eradicate the virus that causes them, you can find some relief. You and your doctor together can determine the best course of treatment based on the signs of genital warts that you exhibit.

A Guide to Removing Genital Warts

March 21st, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Genital warts are a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease, and they are caused by certain sub-types of the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Genital warts are the most obvious and easily recognized sign of HPV, and can be caused by a variety of different strands of the virus, although some people with the virus do not develop any genital warts at all.

Treatment

When it comes to the treatment of genital warts, there are a few different options available. Actually in the majority of genital wart cases they will end up going away on their own, but they can always recur and there is really no surefire way of ever knowing when they will disappear and reappear again.

Removing genital warts then is the only real way to treat this condition, and depending on the specific size and location of the warts, there are a few different genital warts removal methods that the doctor will select from.

Imiquimid is one of the most commonly used products for removing genital warts and it is better known under the Aldara name. It is a prescription medication that is used to treat quite a few different diseases of the skin in fact, and besides genital warts this includes skin cancer, some superficial malignant melanomas, and Bowen’s disease.

Trichloracetic acid is also very commonly used for removing genital warts, and although it is similar to Imiquimid it is also very different in many ways. It is more similar to liquid nitrogen, which is actually the most often used methods of all.

The liquid nitrogen that is used for removing genital warts is produced industrially in very large quantities by fractional distillation of liquid air. It basically works by causing instant frostbite on whatever surface it is applied to, especially when it comes in contact with living tissue, such as the skin.

Your doctor may use liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart, a treatment which is better known as cryotherapy. It will typically cause a little discomfort but little to no actual pain, and in order to be able to completely remove a wart, your doctor will most likely have to use this liquid nitrogen for several weeks in a row until improvement is noted. If there is no improvement noted, then they will probably decide to try out a different method of treatment and see if those results are any better.

The most important thing is that if you ever notice any genital warts on yourself that you get in to see your doctor as soon as possible and get the proper treatment for it. This is not only for your own safety but also for others’, so that if you are having sexual relations with other people you do not pass it on to them.

The Implications Of Pediatric Genital Warts

March 19th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Pediatric genital warts have serious implications in the medical, social and legal aspects. In children with pediatric genital warts several issues must be addressed including possible sexual abuse, vertical transmission from the mother and the chance of future development of ano-genital malignancies. For families these issues can produce a lot of anxiety.

The Medical Aspect

It is very important to have proper diagnosis of pediatric genital warts. If for any reason you question your primary care providers diagnosis then you should obtain a second consultation with someone who has expertise in diagnosing pediatric genital warts, some of these individuals include a child abuse specialist, a pediatric dermatologist and a pediatric gynecologist.

If a child has pediatric genital warts then a complete medical examination is necessary, including an examination of the anus and genitalia for any other signs of possible sexual abuse. Doctors should also conduct an examination for oral warts. Any warts should be documented and photographed. It is also important that doctor test for other sexually transmitted diseases as well.

The Social Aspect

If pediatric genital warts are present then a complete psychosocial assessment will have to be obtained including a family tree that shows who is living in the home with the child. Experts should explore the familial social risk factors including drug or alcohol concerns, domestic violence, past or current involvement with CPS, mental health issues and a history of child abuse or neglect.

It will also be necessary to explore the possibility of any past or present concerns regarding sexual abuse of any family member with the parent or guardian, especially the child who has pediatric genital warts. Experts will also want to get a behavioral history of the child, particularly any incidents of acting out sexual behaviors.

The Legal Aspect

All professionals, including pediatric nurse practitioners, are under child abuse reporting laws that require them to report concerns of suspected child abuse to the responsible authorities. Child abuse reporting laws go above those of the professionals’ ethical responsibility to maintain their patients confidentiality. However, professionals are protected from criminal and civil liability when they report a suspected case of child abuse.

Because of the serious medical, social and legal implications of pediatric genital warts it is important that medical professional competently diagnose the condition in children, refer the child to an advocacy center or a child abuse specialist, understand the issues of child protection and properly report the suspected sexual abuse to proper authorities.

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