Aldara for genital warts side effect

[penelope87]

I have been using aldara for about a month on my genital warts and have had no burning or tenderness that I have heard people talk about on these forums. It has been working great and I am noticing my warts are starting to shrink. The other morning after using my aldara cream overnight I noticed a lump under my skin where I applied some aldara. It is very tender to touch and very noticeable. I was wondering if this is a normal side effect and what I should do to make this go away and if I should keep using aldara on that area while there is a lump. Thank you.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
This kind of bump can be an infected hair follicle, cyst or a boil. Do not use any cosmetic products at the sites. You can apply some calamine lotion at the rash as it will help in soothing the skin. Also wear cotton clothes. Application of mild corticosteroid cream prescribed by your doctor and oral antiinflammatories like ibuprofen/acetaminophen are also helpful.  Topical antibiotics such as mupirocin or neomycin containing ointment are also useful on the bump. If the symptoms are severe then it will be best to consult a dermatologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[drifter0213]

you should continue treatment ok :)