Often acquired as a sexually transmitted disease, the female genital wart is caused by a sub-type of the human papillomavirus. It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. The more you know about this type of wart, the better you can take action to prevent infection, or see to your treatment.

Female genital wart often occurs in clusters; the warts themselves may be very tiny, or spread out in large masses over your entire genital area. They occur both on the outside and inside of the vagina. They may commonly appear at the opening to the womb (the cervix), or around the anus.

The wart is only one of several types of wart. They differ in shape and what body part they may have affected, as well as the type of human papillomavirus (HPV). A few types of warts are:

Common Wart

Common warts are very apparent and usually grow on hands and knees. It can have a rough surface as well. This type of wart is usually common among kids and teens.

The Plantar Wart

Usually hard and painful, the plantar wart contains several tiny dots converging together at the center of the mass. This type may be found mostly on the feet.

The Genital (or anal) Wart

This is also known as a venereal wart, this type is the most easily recognized sign of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Most women who acquire female genital wart tend to recover from it rapidly. However, people may transmit the virus to others even if they have the external physical symptoms of this type of wart’s infection. And it’s a good thing that in majority of the cases, this is not a cause for concern if proper tests are made. When in doubt, make an appointment for a cervical Pap smear test. This test is often used to detect for any genital wart infection, especially if you don’t see any external physical presence, or symptoms.

There are several ways to treat genital wart on females. Visit your doctor for advice, before trying any of these treatments:

- A topical immune response cream applied to the affected area - A 20% podophyllin anti-mitotic solution applied to the affected area and later washed off - A 0.5% podofilox solution applied to the affected area but not to be washed off - Pulsed dye laser - Liquid nitrogen cryosurgery - Electric or laser cauterization

If you are pregnant, do not use both the 20% podophyllin and 0.5% podofilox solutions at all. They will be absorbed into the skin of the affected and may potentially cause birth defects in your developing fetus. The smaller-sized wart may be removed using cryosurgery, or cauterization/ laser treatment. But a surgical procedure may be required to remove larger warts, especially those that do not respond to any of the treatments mentioned above.

A word of advice: While these treatments can remove the wart, they do not remove the HPV virus. They may disappear without treatment, or eventually develop into a lump or wart growth. And then there is the risk of their growing back. The possibility of it returning is high. The HPVvirus stays in the body between six to 14 months before your body’s immune system can flush it out. There is the possibility that it may stay put for good. To reduce the risk, read up on the kinds of preventive measures for recurring warts. A few of these are:

- Ask your partner to wear a condom. While this may reduce the risk of contracting wart, it’s not 100 percent sure.

- Always keep the affected area dry and clean. Wear only clean and dry clothing.

- Avoid sharing towels, clothes, and other articles of personal clothing with people that you may be in contact with to avoid spreading the infection on to them, or on your own body and worsening your own condition.

- Avoid shaving over areas where there are warts in order to avoid spreading the virus.

- Female genital wart may itch, especially since it’s in groin area which rubs constantly against your thighs. Do not scratch or pick at the warts. This may only spread the virus over a larger area. Arming yourself with information about this type of wart is the best thing you can do at the moment. But in this day and age of modern medicine, it’s always better to make an appointment with you doctor to confirm your condition, and get the appropriate treatment.

Your female genital wart may be a symptom of Human Papillomavirus. How dangerous is HPV and how can a genital wart complicate into cervical cancer?