Hi, I've been using Aldara for a month. I am now using a regimen which works well after trial and error. My advice is to use a cotton bud and squeeze just enough of the cream onto the bud to cover the warts. I bought a tub of vaseline especially for this treatment. I stick 3 buds into the vaseline and cover the other end of the buds with Aldara. Use one bud at a time and after using the Aldara end, smear some vaseline on skin that is healthy and may touch the Aldara. Believe me, it can really hurt skin which is has no warts! Be very sparing with Aldara. I use one packet for every 2 applications. I have around 6 warts. In my first week I used a packet per application and was fairly liberal with it - bad idea! I cannot emphasize how sparing you must be with this cream. I have little warts disappear and some reduce in size. To be honest, I have some new warts too though. I have faith that eventually I will win this battle once my immunity improves. I find after 6 hours I wake up and need take a bath cos the itch is insane. It's usually 4 or 5 am! Luckily I can fall asleep after. I bath in salt water and something I dunno if you have in the USA - called Pinetarsol. It's an anti-itch soap alternative - pine tar. It smells funky but it's good stuff. I hear Aveeno oatmeal soak is good too for itchy, sensitive skin.
When you dry off just dab at the skin don't rub hard. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

I am currently using aldara as well. Each packet is meant to be used once and alike Suzie80 I have used each packet for more than one treatment. I use it for 1 week then get rid of it. I have two warts that I have been applying aldara on and they have not yet got any better. Maybe the aldara company is right in telling you to use one packet for one application then to throw it away.

I make sure to let it dry on the skin because if the skin does touch other healthy areas when the aldara is wet than the skin does start to look red...

Let me know if you find anything more out. Good Luck and thanks.

hi;; thanks for your replies. i really appre4ciate it. suzie tonight i will try it your way. the first night wasnt too bad for me. it didnt really bother me and i wasnt itching like crazy. but we'll see how tonight goes. thanks again!

I know that aldara doesnt work for some people but it worked great on me..I had a bad case of warts and my dr. told me that I would have to have laser surgery to remove them but then I got a second opinion and they told me to use aldara for about 3 months and now mine are almost all cleared up..I am so thankful. The cream did not bother me at all..I thought that my skin would be irritated and itchy but it didnt turn out that way. My dr. told me to use a whole packet on mine. Your dr. should have told you how much to use too. But I would think if you just have a couple that you wouldnt need to use the whole pack. I would ask a dr. about using it after you have opened it. I hope that the cream works out for you!

i was unfortunately prego when i found out i had hpv but i was so shocked that i didnt ask a lot of questions at first. it was the very next week i started to notice bumps so he perscribed me aldera... at first i lathered it on and didnt use vaseline or q tips and didnt know i had to wash it off, but it itched so bad i ended up washing anyway lol. so when i asked questions he told me to use one packet twice a week, cases might vary idk. useing vaseline on healthy skin might help the cream from itching. you dont have to use the whole packet, very little per bump. if you want to try to use one packet more than once maybe keeping it in a zip-lock bag so it wont dry out might help.... let the cream sit for about 8 hours then use a damp rag to blot it off dont wipe. it took about a month and half to clear... hopefully it wont come back cause it is really expensive. lol. next week i find out if my pap came back clear. hopefully because you are young your body will be able to heal itself

I used Aldara once but I didn't really like it.I perferred Condylox it's more painful but it works faster for me.Um let's see you can get Aldara for free by your local clinic.I did Im a college student and I have a job and it's still costly so I understand that.I did what Suzie80 adviced.Your suppose to rub it in like a lotion I was told.Idk if it matter if you let it dry because like I use vaseline so it won't contact healty skin.I used the whole little packet I wasnt told not to so I just assumedlol.Unfortunately, after my first treatment I had new ones appear.So I went back to Condylox.

You are suppose to only apply it three times a week. I have used the same packet before for more than one application...especially when I only had one or two warts to put it on. Now I have 8 so I use a whole packet each time. You really should use your finger to apply it and not a Q-tip. You want to rub it all the way in, not leave it just on the top. Using a Qtip you may not be actually applying enough...because the Qtip is absorbing some of the cream. Since it is so costly you really don't want to waste any of it. You want to make sure that you put it just on the wart (as well as you can...it can be hard not to get it on surrounding skin...but that's what can cause the irritation). It can take up to 6 weeks for you to start to notice any changes in the warts. The aldara isn't a cream that gets rid of warts...it aids your immune system to help your body get rid of the hpv from the inside out. So sometimes when you first start to use this your warts can actually get a little bigger before they get smaller. I am on my second round of Aldara...finished the first one last September....but had warts come back. Been doing it since last Wed...after the first time the next day they were bigger...today was my third application and they are all half the size they were when I started. So sometimes it can work fast. But for me they are half the size now...but may stay that way for a couple weeks...or so. Everyone's body will respond to this differently because it aids the immune system and everyone's works differently. GOod luck!!!