Genital Warts Treatment: Alternative Therapy
Before trying medical treatments for genital warts such as topical medications, surgery, and interferon, people often prefer to try alternative or natural therapies for their warts. But which ones work and which ones are a waste of time? A lot may have to do with the individual since people's bodies react to different treatments in varying ways, so you may have to experiment with a number of different treatments before you find one that's right for you. Here are some generally recommended homeopathic remedies:
Topical Treatments
Apply these solutions directly to your warts at least twice a day, more often if you can. It is not safe to ingest all of these substances, so do not take them orally.
- Goldenseal: May destroy some types of viral infections due to it's natural antibiotic properties
- Tea Tree Oil: Long known to have strong antiseptic, antibacterial, and antiviral properties
- Garlic Oil or Raw Garlic: Helps white blood cells fight infections
- Aloe Vera: Heals and soothes the skin
- Sour Apple Juice: The apple contains magnesium, which is believed to have a beneficial effect
Oral Supplements
Your body uses its immune system when trying to fight off a viral infection such as HPV or the warts it causes. Immune boosting supplements may help your body better deal with genital warts by stopping outbreaks before they start.
Popular supplements to boost your body's immune system include: echinacea, astragalus, and garlic powder tablets. The vitamins and minerals A, B-Complex, C, E, zinc, lactobacillus acidophilus, and the amino acid l-cysteine are also helpful in boosting the immune system. When taking vitamins, pay attention to the recommended daily dose for each. Some vitamins can be more harmful than beneficial if you take too much. An example of this is vitamin A, which can be more safely ingested in high doses as beta-carotene.
Diet And Lifestyle
You can also take a proactive approach to preventing genital warts outbreaks by maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in a healthy lifestyle. Reduce the amount of refined sugars and trans- and saturated fats in your diet. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, vitamins, and minerals. Drink lots of water. Exercise regularly and get lots of rest. All of these things will further boost your immune system and help your body fight off all kinds of infections.
Emotional Stress
It has long been known that emotional stress can have a negative impact on the immune system, and it can cause recurrent outbreaks of conditions like genital warts and herpes. So in addition to maintaining your overall physical health, make an effort to stay emotionally healthy as well. Work through negative feelings and don't ruminate on them. Instead, find the emotional support you need and focus on the positives.
Many people who have contracted HPV and gotten genital warts experience negative emotions like fear, guilt, isolation, and helplessness, among others. Remember that you are not alone. Contact your local STD clinic for a list of support groups in your area. It'll help to have someone you can talk to about genital warts, and people with experiences similar to yours will show you that HPV is manageable.
Remember that many of these alternative therapies for genital warts have not been clinically proven in the medical community, but they have shown positive benefits to many who have tried them.
