HPV Treatment for Cervical Changes
If you have abnormal cells on the cervix, it is important to follow up with your healthcare provider. If the problem is mild, your healthcare provider may want to closely watch your condition to see if the cells heal on their own (this is called watchful waiting). The healthcare provider may also recommend a few methods for removing the abnormal tissue. These
HPV treatment options may include:
- Cryosurgery: Abnormal tissue is frozen off.
- Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP): Tissue is removed using a hot wire loop.
- Laser treatment: A beam of light destroys the abnormal tissue.
- Cone biopsy: A cone-shaped sample of tissue is removed from the cervix.
After these HPV treatments, you may have vaginal bleeding, cramping, a brownish-black discharge, or a watery discharge. Even after treatment, it is important to follow up as recommended to make sure that the abnormalities do not come back.
If HPV is diagnosed but there are no changes to the cervix or
genital warts, treatment is not recommended. This is known as subclinical genital HPV infection. Subclinical genital HPV infection oftentimes goes away on it own, and there is no treatment that has been shown to help the body get rid of the HPV virus.
HPV Treatment for Other Warts
Treatment for other types of warts caused by HPV are different from those used for genital warts. If, for some reason, you have medicine for genital warts, do not use it to try and remove other types of warts.
Possible HPV treatments for nongenital types of warts include:
- Salicylic acid (such as Compound W®), which chemically "burns" the wart
- Liquid nitrogen solution to freeze them off
- Duct tape treatment
- Laser procedure
- Surgery.
Make sure to talk with your healthcare provider before deciding which treatment is best for your warts.
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