Genital warts often disappear even without treatment.

In other cases, they eventually may develop a fleshy, small raised growth. There is no way to predict whether the warts will grow or disappear. Therefore, if you suspect you have genital warts, you should be examined and treated, if necessary.

Depending on factors such as the size and location of the genital warts, a doctor will offer you one of several ways to treat them.

Imiquimod, (Aldara) a topical immune response cream which you can apply to the affected area
A 20% podophyllin anti-mitotic solution, which you can apply to the affected area and later wash off
A 0.5% podofilox solution, applied to the affected area but shouldn’t be washed off
A 5% 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cream
Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)
Pulsed dye laser
Liquid nitrogen cryosurgery

If you are pregnant, you should not use podophyllin or podofilox because they are absorbed by the skin and may cause birth defects in your baby. In addition, you should not use 5-fluorouracil cream if you are trying to become pregnant or if there is a possibility that you could be pregnant.

If you have small warts, the doctor can remove them by freezing (cryosurgery), burning (electrocautery), or laser treatment. Occasionally, the doctor will have to use surgery to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.

Some doctors use the antiviral drug interferon-alpha, which they inject directly into the warts, to treat warts that have returned after removal by traditional means. The drug is expensive, however, and does not reduce the rate that the genital warts return.

Although treatments can get rid of the warts, they do not get rid of the HPV virus, so warts can recur after treatment.

The body's immune system typically clears the virus anywhere from 6 months to two years, but it occasionally remains in the body for a lifetime. The state of the immune system determines the chances of ridding the virus entirely, and can be affected by factors such as HIV infection, certain medications, stress, or illness. There is even some suggestion that effective treatment of the wart may aid the body's immune response.