This is partly to protect the treated area of skin from friction and help it heal. While experts disagree on this question, many say there's no proven benefit to treating subclinical HPV and some discourage it. It is important, however, that health care providers watch carefully for precancerous changes on the cervix that may be found along with HPV infection. Treatment of genital warts can be frustrating for both health care provider and patient alike. The average patient may take a few treatments to clear their genital warts.
Warts often recur after treatment.
Patients should occasionally inspect their genital skin after treatment to see if the warts have returned. Treatment gets rid of HPV by destroying infected cells. But treatment doesn't always destroy all the infected cells. The types of HPV linked to cervical cancer usually are not the types that cause genital warts. But a woman with genital warts, like any other sexually active woman, should get yearly Pap smears.