Liquid nitrogen: Liquid nitrogen or cryotherapy is used to deep freeze the wart tissue. With liquid nitrogen applied to the wart, the water in the cells expands, thus exploding the infected tissue. The exploded cells can no longer hide the human papillomavirus from the body's immune system. The immune system then works to destroy the virus particles.

Genital warts that are especially large and hard to remove may need to be surgically removed through laser surgery. This type of treatment, though, will require you to go to a trained specialist. Additionally, laser surgery tends to be the most expensive treatment for genital warts.

Treatment involves the physical or chemical destruction of the lesion. In physical destruction, liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold, is sprayed onto the wart or applied with a cotton-tipped swab. Because freezing is painful, this form of treatment is not tolerated well by young children. Warts can be anesthetized and then scraped (curetted), burned (desiccated), lasered off, or surgically cut out (excised).

The active ingredient in most over-the-counter remedies is salicylic acid, a natural substance found in many plants (willow bark) and most fruits. It can be applied either as a liquid or a patch (I prefer the patch). With regular application, many warts will disappear within 12 weeks. These topical treatments often work best if the surface of the wart is disrupted with warm soaks and/or an emory board before application.

Your doctor may use cantharidin — a substance extracted from the blister beetle — on your warts. Typically, the extract is mixed with other chemicals, painted onto the skin and covered with a bandage. The application is painless, but the resulting skin blister can be uncomfortable. However, the blister has an important purpose. It lifts the wart off your skin, so your doctor can remove the dead part of the wart.

Derived from vitamin A, these medications disrupt your wart's skin cell growth. Your doctor may prescribe a retinoid cream or an oral medication.

Most warts don't need to be treated. In children, between 30 and 50 percent of verrucas disappear within six months, although they may last longer in adults. One study found that two thirds of warts disappear on their own within two years.

To help reduce the pain symptoms of herpes and cold sores, including burning, and itching experienced during this stage.

Warts tend to grow rapidly during pregnancy and may become numerous and large. This may be due to a weakened immune system, but there is some evidence to suggest that HPV is influenced by progesterone, which is high during pregnancy. In most cases warts will not interfere with pregnancy or birth but if the warts are very large, they may need to be removed.
The safest treatments during pregnancy are cryotherapy and surgery. In severe cases, if large warts cannot be removed, it may be necessary to have a caesarean section.

Wart medications and patches are available at drugstores. To treat plantar warts, you'll need a 40 percent salicylic acid solution or patch (Curad Mediplast, Dr. Scholl's Clear Away Plantar, others), which peels off the infected skin a little bit at a time. Apply the solution once or twice each day, being careful to avoid healthy skin, which can become irritated from the acid. In between applications, pare away the dead skin and wart tissue using a pumice stone or emery board. You may need to repeat this process for up to three or four weeks to completely eliminate warts.