Cures for HPV in Women Over 50

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is an umbrella term to describe one of several types of HPV viruses that can cause anything from genital warts to common warts of the hand to mouth lesions. No cure exists for any variety of HPV, and treatment for women over fifty years of age is the same for women of any age. Treatment is symptom-specific and involves a mix of prescription medication, a number of therapies and surgery.

Causes and Symptoms

• The Human Papillomavirus enters the body through any opening in your skin. This can be in the form of a cut or abrasion or through an orifice such as the mouth or nose. The only way to contract the virus is through direct skin-to-skin contact.

  Symptoms are type-specific. The myriad of HPV subtypes affects certain parts of the body, though the virus may lay dormant in the system without giving off signs of its presence. Genital warts in women typically occur on the vulva and around the anus, though they may also appear on and inside the vagina. They have a cauliflower-like rough texture. These warts are non-malignant, though some strains of the virus can cause precancerous lesions that possess the potential to develop into cancer.

  Warts of the hands, fingers and on the underside of the foot (plantar warts) are typically rough in texture and easily treatable, serving merely as an aesthetic issue. They can appear individually or in groups, and can sometimes cause pain, especially plantar warts due to their location. Flat warts can appear anywhere, even the face, and are different from other common warts in that they have a flat, smoother top.

Medication

• Medication for HPV is type specific as well. For genital warts, topical treatments such as podofilox and trichloroacetic acid destroy wart tissue and burn the wart off, respectively, while imiquimod works by boosting the immune system to better fight off the virus.

  In the event that you have common warts of the hands, feet or face, imiquimod may be used, but one of the more common treatments is salicyclic acid. Available in either a prescription cream or in over-the-counter medicated pads, it works by killing layers of the wart over time, which eventually cause it to slough off. The medication should be applied carefully, as salicylic acid can damage healthy skin as well.

Therapies

• A number of therapies exist to remove genital warts, common warts and high-grade pre-malignant lesions. These include cryotherapy (freezing the wart off with liquid nitrogen), electrocautery (burning the wart off with an electrical current) and laser therapy (burning the wart off with a concentrated laser). These treatments are typically used when medical and conventional methods fail to work, and with the exception of pre-cancerous lesions, is a voluntary treatment usually done for cosmetic and aesthetic reasons. Over-the-counter freezing methods exist, though their effectiveness is hindered by the temperature being used, which is much higher when performed in a doctor's office.

Surgery and Prevention

• In severe cases where conventional treatments and therapies prove ineffective, your warts or lesions may be removed through standard surgery. In the event that pre-cancerous lesions develop into cervical cancer, surgery accompanied with chemotherapy and radiation therapy is usually the standard.

  Given the lack of a true cure, you should follow a number of preventative measures to avoid contracting the virus in the first place. Always practice safe sex, condoms for men and dental dams for women. Avoid contact with anyone who has visible signs of the virus, as it is highly contagious, and always clean and keep covered any open wounds. For women of all ages a vaccine called Gardisil was recently approved to prevent HPV and is a recommended vaccine for young girls who have yet to become sexually active. For plantar warts, the best method of prevention is keeping the feet cool and dry, and avoiding going barefoot in public. You should always wear clean socks, changing them daily and never wearing them more than once.