What to know about anal wart removal

A clinician may use freezing, a carefully applied chemical treatment, electrosurgery, laser treatment, or surgical excision. The choice depends on whether warts are on the skin around the anus or inside the anal canal, as well as their size, number, symptoms, and response to earlier care.

Anal warts are growths caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV. They may occur around the anal opening or within the canal, and internal warts may not be visible without an examination. Having visible warts does not show when HPV was acquired or identify who transmitted it.

Most lesions can be recognised by examination, but a clinician may sample tissue if a growth looks unusual, is firm or fixed, is ulcerated or bleeding, does not respond as expected, or if the diagnosis is uncertain. External anal warts can occur alongside internal ones, so an examination of the canal may be advised.

Tell the treating clinician about pregnancy, medicines, allergies, immune conditions, previous treatments, and any bleeding tendency. Do not apply ordinary pharmacy wart removers to anal or genital skin; these products are not designed for this sensitive area. Warts inside the canal should be managed with specialist input.

After a procedure, follow the specific washing, dressing, pain-relief, and bowel-care instructions you receive. Keep the area gently clean, avoid picking treated tissue, and attend follow-up because healing and the need for further treatment vary. Ask when sexual contact can resume; HPV may still be passed through skin contact after visible warts have gone, while condoms reduce exposure only to the skin they cover.

Contact the treating service promptly for worsening pain, increasing redness or swelling, pus, fever, persistent bleeding, difficulty passing stool or urine, or a wound that is not healing as expected. Seek urgent care for heavy bleeding, faintness, severe rapidly worsening pain, or inability to pass stool or urine.

Arrange reassessment if growths return, spread, change colour, become hard or fixed, ulcerate, or bleed without an obvious treatment-related cause. These features do not establish a diagnosis by themselves, but they may require closer examination or a biopsy rather than another round of routine wart treatment.

Ask whether the warts are external, internal, or both; why the recommended method fits their location; what anaesthesia or pain control is planned; how to care for the area after treatment; and which symptoms should trigger a call. It is also useful to discuss testing for other sexually transmitted infections, partner communication, HPV vaccination eligibility, and what follow-up is appropriate if warts recur.