Going to the Doctor for Anal Warts?
May 31, 2010 by Micah
Filed under Hemorroid Treatments
I am pretty sure I have anal warts. At first I thought they were hemroids but after some research I have been led to believe they are not.
What type of doctor should I make an appointment with? Can a general practitioner diagnose and treat me? I believe I only have about four warts in total and one is about the size of a pea and the others are quite small. Should I, instead, book an appointment with a specialist like a proctologist?
Also, what does treatment usually entail? How painful is it?
I have known I’ve had these warts for about eight months and they don’t seem to be getting bigger or spreading anymore. Would my treatment most likely be something that can be done in the doctor’s office, a perscription cream or ointment, surgery, or something else?
No one knows I have this and I feel really embarassed to go to the doctor and have him check me out. I also don’t really want anyone to know about this. I’ve never had any type of warts before. The only place I have them is my anus
First of all, my heart-felt sentiments go out to you because I know the fear of embarrassment you face, even just mentioning this to others who might know you in your immediate world. I had to have a hemmorhoid-ectomy a number of years ago and I went through the same thing. But after I just decided to proceed with it with as much professional attitude I could muster, it was not so bad and the staff treated me very respectfully as if this were just any other medical condition requiring treatment.
But I DID have to go to a proctologist which is what I do suggest for you. (What possesses any doctor to go into this specialty — staring at sphincters, day-in/day-out — I do not know. But it must be the money!).
The actual surgical table is different because it bends at the middle. They will have you lay on your stomach so your back side is pointed upward and your head is slightly lower than your waist. Because there was cutting involved in my procedure, they put me under a local anesthetic below my waist in the form of a pretty big needled syringe applied to my hip. I believe they gave me a general anesthetic too although I was not completely knocked out. I remember just being groggy and foggy where I had no real appreciation for time but there was no real pain after being stuck with the big needle.
I was in the hospital I believe for a couple of days (this was long ago, mind you) and when released, they gave me a donut shaped plastic basin device to fit over the toilet seat, along with a bladder and a tube to administer a solution for cleansing the treated area — also known as a "sitz bath". It’s easier to look at the picture than to describe it in words. Here’s a helpful link:
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/sitz_bath.jsp
There was follow up treatment required and I’m sorry but I forget if the stitches had to be removed or if they were the self dissolving type. Again, it was long ago.
And for a period of time after the surgery, elimination was a bit painful but it was not excruciating. I was just really glad when it was all over and hoped I would never have to go through that again, but in retrospect, it was not the nightmare I initially perceived it might be.
In your case, they may not have to do any cutting. I’m not sure which procedure they may apply. I’ve had warts in other areas injected with an acidic solution that was supposed to make them die and fall off. I’ve also had warts frozen with liquid oxygen which was administered from a big round, steaming tank via a metal wand applied to the affected area. It stung a bit and they had to make more than one application over time, but it did the trick, the warts died and fell off, and did not return.
Be careful if this is Anal Condyloma as that can be transmitted sexually. So if this is, you should refrain from sex until it is treated and the condition has fully cleared. Here is one website reference:
http://www.genital-warts-treatments.org/condyloma-hpv/anal-condyloma.html
Good luck to you. I hope this was helpful.
If you suspect you have an HPV infection, you have to see a doctor. It can spread to your genitals. It’s contagious, so if you’re sexually active, you’ll need to tell your partner, he/she will need to be checked out as well. If you’re partner is female, be aware that untreated HPV infections can cause cervical cancer.
Go to your regular practitioner for diagnosis, and he/she’ll recommend a specialist to treat. You’ll probably have to have them lasered off.
good luck!
a doctor can treat them with liquid nitrogen….you can also treat them yourself if you go to a chemist and get some wart treatment ointments.
Yes. Go to test ASAP! Also you can check the online answers for you on http://www.stdpal.com. It is online support dating sites for H people worldwide
You could go to your usual primary care doctor, but it depends on how much experience he or she has with this problem whether he/she would refer you on.
I’d suggest going to your local STI or genitourinary medicine clinic, as the doctors there will be very familiar with this problem. They deal with it every day.
Usually the best and simplest treatment is freezing them with liquid nitrogen. It sometimes takes a few goes if the warts are particularly large or numerous. Cutting them out surgically is rarely necessary in my opinion.
DON’T use normal over the counter wart ointments on anal or genital warts. They are designed for the tough keratinised skin of common warts (such as on your hands or feet), and will make a mess of the softer anogenital warts.