warticon

There is a choice of a solution or cream that has podophyllotoxin as the active ingredient, which is a medicine derived from the roots of the podophyllum plant.

It is used specifically for soft warts on the foreskin of the penis in men or externalsoft warts on the vagina in females. It’s not licensed to treat anal warts.

It’s suitable if your warts cover less than the size of a postage stamp in total (about 4 squared cm).

Warticon works by penetrating the wart tissue and preventing the wart cells from dividing and multiplying. Over time, all the wart cells die and new healthy tissue grows in their place.

For some people the warts go away quickly but for others the warts are stubborn and treatment may have to be repeated a number of times. It can also take a while for the treatment to start working. Evidence suggests that smokers respond less well to treatment than non-smokers.

Warticon should be applied twice daily, morning and evening (every 12 hours) for 3 consecutive days. The treatment should then be withheld for the next 4 consecutive days.

Application to the surrounding normal tissue should be avoided. You can protect the healthy skin by applying Vaseline to the area around the warts.

If residual warts persist, this 3-day treatment may be repeated weekly until there is no visible wart tissue or for a total of 4 weeks of treatment.

Full instructions are on the Patient Information Leaflet, PIL, supplied with the Warticon and at the bottom of this page.

Avoid contact with healthy skin. If this happens, wash the solution off with soap and water.

Don’t apply Warticon Solution to warts on the inside of the penis or vagina. Warticon Solution should only be applied to warts on the outside (external) skin.

It doesn't weaken latex condoms.

It can cause local irritation which is usually mild but may include itching, burning, soreness and ulceration.

Podophyllotoxin should not be used if the patient is or might become pregnant or breast-feeding.

It is advisable to avoid sex during treatment with Warticon cream or solution. You should wait until your warts have gone and your skin has healed. This is mainly to protect the treated area of skin from friction and to help it to heal.

If you do have sex, you must use a condom to help prevent the spread of genital warts and to protect your partner from coming into contact with podophyllotoxin (since it is irritant).

Using condoms may help to reduce the spread of the virus if they’re used while the warts are present and for the first three months after the warts have gone.

Some people only ever get one episode of genital warts. For many others, the warts can come back. If you do get new genital warts, it’s not possible to say if these are due to the original infection or a new infection.

Download the Patient Information Leaflet for Warticon Solution

Download the Patient Information Leaflet for Warticon Cream