Genital warts, officially known as “condyloma acuminata”, are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The virus enters the skin or mucous membranes during sexual intercourse and can be transmitted by the virus, which can be latent in the epidermal cells and multiply. The incubation period is about three to four months, but sometimes it can be as long as one or two years. The majority of genital warts occur in the vicinity of the external genitalia, commonly in the glans, foreskin, coronal sulcus, penis, pubic bone, scrotum and perineum in men, and mainly in the labia majora and minora in women. In recent years, due to the complexity and diversity of sexual behavior, “cauliflower” near the anal opening and in the oral cavity is also occasionally seen. The lesions are usually flat, pink to brown, smooth or verrucous papules of one to three millimeters in size, located on the general skin, and are scattered or clustered. Sometimes the papules may fuse to form large plaques or even hyperkeratosis. In the mucosal area, they are often finger-like warts that can be as small as a pencil tip or as large as a cauliflower, a true “cauliflower”. A common condition that can be easily confused with genital warts is “pearly penile papules” in men and “papillomatosis vestibulosa” in women. The former is a benign angiofibroma that occurs mainly on the glans margin and coronal sulcus as small, well-arranged, yellow or white, scattered papules. If left untreated, genital warts may spread to the urethra, anus and rectum in men, and to the vagina, cervix, anus and rectum in women. Furthermore, it is now known that cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men are both strongly associated with HPV infection. Therefore, if genital warts are not treated aggressively, they may have serious consequences for you and your partner. The most important feature of genital warts treatment is that they are very prone to recurrence. The most important feature of the treatment of genital warts is that they are very prone to recurrence. Patients who seem to be completely cured clinically may have a recurrence elsewhere within two weeks, and it often takes several months for the treatment to fully heal. The general principle of treatment is destructive therapy, which destroys the HPV-infected cells, thus completely destroying HPV. Currently, the common treatment modalities include surgical excision, electrocautery, liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, carbon dioxide laser and electrochemical therapy. Pharmacological treatment is mainly through chemical cautery to destroy warts, commonly used agents include: trichloroacetic acid, onychomycin, onychotoxin and 5-FU. The recurrence rate is generally around 30% to 50%. Usually, after trying one treatment for a period of time, if recurrence persists, another treatment will be changed. In terms of prevention, in addition to avoiding abnormal sexual relations, the use of condoms is the most basic protective measure. If you get infected, you should receive treatment immediately. Repeated genital warts can be a recurrence or a re-infection, so treatment must be patient and sexual partners should be tested together. The HPV vaccine is currently being prepared for clinical trials in China, and if developed successfully, it will be a boon to such patients.