One of the most common types of sexually transmitted infections (STDs), is genital warts.
which can be transmitted to you even from an asymptomatic partner.
Freezing genital warts, also called cryotherapy, will heal the lesion and prevent the transmission of the infection to your sexual partner.
But what is cryotherapy or freezing of genital warts and how long will it take you to get rid of your lesions after cryotherapy? In this article we will answer your question.
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How is infection with human papillomavirus, or HPV, transmitted?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is most commonly transmitted to a healthy person through vaginal or anal sex and to a lesser extent through oral sex. And causes the appearance of genital warts and sometimes a group of cancers such as anal cancer, cervical and vaginal cancer and vulva in women and anal and penile cancer in men.
What are the symptoms of genital warts?
- Genital warts can appear in groups or a person can have only one single lesion.
- The lesions are sometimes flat and have a cauliflower-like surface and are sometimes slightly raised.
- They cause itching and discomfort in the affected person.
- Genital warts can be the same color as the skin or slightly darker than the skin color and are usually not painful unless they are damaged and bleeding.
What should we do if we have genital warts?
If you have suspicious lesions, avoid arbitrary treatments or over-the-counter medications for warts.
By visiting a doctor or urogenital disease clinic, you will receive the correct treatment of genital warts with the least complications.
One of the best treatments for genital warts is wart freezing or cryotherapy. This method causes the warts that contain living cells to dry out and disappear. In the following, we will say how long after the wart freezes, the lesion will disappear.
How is freezing or cryotherapy or cryosurgery performed?
In this method, the treating physician uses liquid nitrogen to remove warts. Warts that have accumulated in one area will be the best option for this type of treatment. The number of freezing sessions is determined according to the size and thickness of the lesions. Cryotherapy is performed in a policlinic or clinic and is the best treatment for genital warts.
What is meant by liquid nitrogen?
It is nitrogen that has reached a temperature of minus one hundred and ninety-six degrees Celsius. In cryotherapy or freezing, all cells freeze when liquid nitrogen arrives. When they freeze, cell death occurs. Freezing of the cell causes the crystal to form, and the cell wall is damaged following the formation of the crystal and the cell life is destroyed.
Following cell damage, inflammation will occur locally. Inflammation is one of our body’s natural responses to cell death, and it completes the process of genital wart cell death, it is due to inflammation that the wart tissue will eventually disappear. The wart cells die and fall off after a while. As they fall, the viral particles also disappear.
After the genital warts freeze, your cryotherapy site will turn black in the first day or two, indicating the death of the wart cells.
The blisters break four to seven days after the genital warts freeze, then they dry and fall off.
Dead, black tissue, as well as dried blisters, usually fall off within a week or two. The affected area may be a little lighter than your skin, over time and within a few months the area will heal completely.
Cryotherapy for warts on the surface of the skin can be done even during pregnancy.
Cryotherapy or freezing removes genital wart lesions but does not clear the HPV virus from the infected person, the virus remains dormant in the body and may cause genital warts to recur, Keep in mind that even a person without genital warts who has the HPV virus hidden in their body can infect their partner during intercourse.
To avoid becoming infected with the human papillomavirus, it is recommended to avoid sexual intercourse with high-risk people, Take condom use seriously, especially in people that you have no knowledge of their history of infectious diseases, and finally, it is recommended that you do not neglect the injection of Gardasil 9 vaccine to reduce the risk of genital warts and high-risk carcinogens.