| WHAT
ARE GENITAL WARTS? |
|
Genital warts is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the human papilloma virus
(HPV). About 4 million Americans suffer from genital warts,
and it is the fastest growing sexually transmitted disease with 750,00
new cases each year. |
| WHAT
DO GENITAL WARTS LOOK LIKE? |
| Genital
warts often appear as groups of warts in the genital and perianal areas
in females and males. The warts may be very small or can form large
masses on the genital tissues. The warts can cause itching, burning,
pain and tenderness. In women, the warts can occur on the vulva,
perianal area, vagina and cervix. In men, genital warts can appear
on the tip or shaft of the penis, urethra, scrotum, and perianal area.
If untreated, genital warts can cause discomfort and pain and interfere
with sexual activity and develop into a large fleshy cauliflower-like appearance |
| HOW
ARE GENITAL WARTS SPREAD? |
|
Genital
warts are highly contagious and are spread through sexual contact with
an infected partner. A person recognizable can be infected with the
HPV virus and be asymptomatic without any recognizable warts, but can still
infect their sexual partners. Even after the warts disappear with
treatment, individuals still may harbor the HPV virus and infect their
partners. |
| WHAT IS ALDARA CREAM & HOW DOES IT WORK? |
|
ALDARA
(Imiquimod) Cream 5% is a NEW therapeutic approach to genital warts and
provides an effective treatment for genital warts that that a person can
apply at home. Aldara cream is the newest in a class of drugs
called
immune-response modifiers. It stimulates the
immune system to fight the HPV virus that causes genital warts.
Aldara cream is a vanishing cream specially formulated for the treatment
of external genital and perianal warts in the male and female and is available
by prescription only! |
| WILL ALDARA WORK FOR ME? |
|
ALDARA
is the first of its kind immune-system stimulating topical treatment
for genital warts. If you have ever been diagnosed by a physician
with genital warts and suffer from recurrent outbreaks then ALDARA may
work for you. Aldara is a patient-applied topical cream available
only by prescription containing the active ingredient Imiquimod in a vanishing
cream base. In clinical studies Aldara was effective in clearing
gential/perianal warts -over 70% of patients experienced a total clearance
of warts and those who obtained a total wart clearance tended
to remain clear. |
| WHAT ARE THE INDICATIONS FOR ALDARA? |
|
Aldara
cream is indicated for the treatment of external genital warts, perianal
warts and condylomata acuminata in adults. It must NOT be combined
with any other topical medications to the affected area nor with any topical
treatment for genital warts. |
| HOW
LONG DO I HAVE TO USE ALDARA CREAM? |
|
Aldara
Cream 5%, available by prescription only, is supplied in single-use packets
that contain 250mg of the cream. The Aldara cream is applied
to the affected area every other day, three times per week just prior to
bedtime and is left on the skin for 6 - 10 hours. The cream is applied
in a thin layer and rubbed into skin gently until the cream is no longer
visible. The application site should not be occluded.
Hand washing before and after applying cream is recommended. In the
morning the cream is removed by washing the treated area with mild soap
and water. Treatment should continue until there is a total clearance
of the external genital/perianal warts or for a maximum of 16 weeks. |
| WHEN USING ALDARA CAN I STILL SPREAD THE VIRUS? |
|
Yes!
There is no cure for genital warts and once you have the HPV virus
in your body may always be contagious to your sexual partner even if asymptomatic.
You are extremely contagious during an outbreak of genital warts and Aldara
Cream DOES NOT alter the contagious nature of genital warts.
Once you have genital warts, even if you don't have active outbreaks
you are always potentially contagious. |
| WHAT ARE THE SIDE
EFFECTS OF ALDARA CREAM? |
No
life-threatening symptoms have ever been reported. Aldara is applied
topically to the affected area only and is NOT routinely systemically absorbed,
therefore it has negligible chance to interact with other drugs. Aldara
cream is to be applied topically and used externally only. It is
NOT intended for internal use. In case of accidental consumption
of cream call 911 for emergency help or your local poison control center.
There
are very minimal side effects associated with Aldara cream topical
application. The most common side effects which occur frequently are
local skin reactions such as erythema, (redness) erosion of the site, flaking
of skin and swelling. If severe local skin reactions occur, the cream
should be removed by washing with mild soap and water. A rest period
of several days may be taken if required, and treatment can be resumed
after the skin reaction has subsided.
Uncircumcised
men with warts under the foreskin have an increased potential for
significant local skin reactions because of the occlusive nature
of this area. Therefore, uncircumcised males who apply Aldara cream
under the foreskin need to retract the foreskin daily and thoroughly wash
and dry the area. |
WHO SHOULD NOT USE
ALDARA CREAM?
WHAT ARE THE CONTRAINDICATIONS
FOR ALDARA?
|
|
There are no known contraindications to the use of ALDARA cream,
but there are several precautions. Before proceeding to the medical
consultation form you must read these precautions. Also, Aldara cream
has NOT been evaluated for the treatment of internal genital / anal disease
such as urethral, intravaginal, cervical, rectal or intraanal HPV and is
NOT recommended for these conditions. Aldara cream is NOT indicated
for internal use such as for cervical lesions or for the prevention of
cervical cancer.
There are
NO adequate well-controlled studies in pregnant women and therefore can
not be recommended for pregnant women (unless your own personal physician
approves the use of Aldara cream during pregnancy). Also it is not
known whether Aldara cream is excreted into breast milk and therefore can
not be recommended while breast feeding.
Aldara cream
is contraindicated in severely immunocompromised patients or patients with
HIV (AIDS) disease (in rare circumstances in uncircumcised men, strictures
of the penile foreskin may occur.
Aldara Cream
is CONTRAINDICATED in anyone with known hypersensitivity to the product
or any of its components: You must not use Aldara
cream if you have a hypersensitivity to Imiquimod or any of
the inactive ingredients: isotearic acid, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol,
white petrolatum, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, purified water,
benzyl alcohol, , glycerin, xanthan gum, methylparaben, and propylparaben.
Always inform your doctor before starting therapy. |
| Under
NO circumstance is any child under the age of 18, in anyone pregnant
or breast-feeding, anyone with a severely compromised immune system
or advanced HIV use Aldara cream (unless prescribed by your
own personal-regular physician). |
