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GenitalWartsFactSheet.com is brought to you by AllNetHealth.com and is intended to provide basic information that you can use to make informed decisions about important health issues affecting you or your loved ones. We hope that you’ll find this information about Genital Warts helpful and that you’ll seek professional medical advice to address any specific symptoms you might have related to this matter.
What are the signs and symptoms of genial warts? How are genital warts diagnosed? How are genital warts and HPV treated? What are some of the complications from genital warts? How can genital warts be prevented? Where can I find more information on genital warts? Where can I buy home test kits for contributing factors of this condition?
Genital warts are the most easily recognized sign of genital HPV (Human Papillomavirus) infection. Many people, however, have a genital HPV infection without genital warts. Click here for a description of HPV. Genital warts are soft, moist, or flesh colored and appear in the genital area within weeks or months after infection. They sometimes appear in clusters that resemble cauliflower-like bumps, and are either raised or flat, small or large. Genital warts can show up in women on the vulva and cervix, and inside and surrounding the vagina
How are genital warts spread? (top) Genital warts are very contagious and are spread during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with an infected partner. They are transmitted by skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, anal, or (rarely) oral sex with someone who is infected. About two-thirds of people who have sexual contact with a partner with genital warts will develop warts, usually within 3 months of contact. In women, the warts occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening to the uterus (cervix), or around the anus. In men, genital warts are less common. If present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis. They also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. Rarely, genital warts also can develop in your mouth or throat if you have oral sex with an infected person. Like many STIs (sexually transmitted infections), genital HPV infections often do not have signs and symptoms that can be seen or felt. One study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported that almost half of women infected with HPV had no obvious symptoms. If you are infected but have no symptoms, you can still spread HPV to your sexual partner and/or develop complications from the virus.
What are the signs and symptoms of genial warts? (top) Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Some people get visible genital warts, or have pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, vulva, anus, or penis. Very rarely, HPV infection results in anal or genital cancers. Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored swellings, usually in the genital area. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all.
How are genital warts diagnosed? (top) Your health care provider usually diagnoses genital warts by seeing them. If you are a woman with genital warts, you also should be examined for possible HPV infection of the cervix. Your provider may be able to identify some otherwise invisible warts in your genital tissue by applying vinegar (acetic acid) to areas of your body that might be infected. This solution causes infected areas to whiten, which makes them more visible. In some cases, a health care provider will take a small piece of tissue from the cervix and examine it under the microscope. If you have an abnormal Pap smear result, it may indicate the possible presence of cervical HPV infection. A laboratory worker will examine cells scraped from your cervix under a microscope to see if they are cancerous.
How are genital warts and HPV treated? (top) HPV has no known cure. There are treatments for genital warts, though they often disappear even without treatment. There is no way to predict whether the warts will grow or disappear. Therefore, if you suspect you have genital warts, you should be examined and treated, if necessary. Depending on
factors such as the size and location of your genital warts, your health
care provider will offer you one of several ways to treat them. If you are pregnant, you should not use podophyllin or podofilox because they are absorbed by your skin and may cause birth defects in your baby. In addition, you should not use 5-fluorouracil cream if you are expecting. If you have small warts, your health care provider can remove them by one of three methods. • freezing
(cryosurgery) Some health care providers use the antiviral drug alpha interferon, which they inject directly into the warts, to treat warts that have returned after removal by traditional means. The drug is expensive, however, and does not reduce the rate that the genital warts return. Although treatments can get rid of the warts, none get rid of the virus. Because the virus is still present in your body, warts often come back after treatment.
What are some of the complications from genital warts? (top) Cancer Some types of HPV can cause cervical cancer. Other types are associated with vulvar cancer, anal cancer, and cancer of the penis (a rare cancer). Most HPV infections do not progress to cervical cancer. If you are a woman with abnormal cervical cells, a Pap test will detect them. If you have abnormal cervical cells, it is particularly important for you to have regular pelvic exams and Pap tests so you can be treated early, if necessary. Pregnancy and Childbirth Genital warts may cause a number of problems during pregnancy. Sometimes they get larger during pregnancy, making it difficult to urinate. If the warts are in the vagina, they can make the vagina less elastic and cause obstruction during delivery. Rarely, infants born to women with genital warts develop warts in their throats (laryngeal papillomatosis). Although uncommon, it is a potentially life-threatening condition for the child, requiring frequent laser surgery to prevent obstruction of the breathing passages. Research on the use of interferon therapy with laser surgery indicates that this drug may show promise in slowing the course of the disease.
How can genital warts be prevented? (top) The only way you can prevent getting an HPV infection is to avoid direct contact with the virus, which is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. If you or your sexual partner has warts that are visible in the genital area, you should avoid any sexual contact until the warts are treated. Research studies have not confirmed that male latex condoms prevent transmission of HPV, but studies do suggest that using condoms may reduce your risk of developing diseases linked to HPV, such as genital warts and cervical cancer. Unfortunately, many people who don’t have symptoms don’t know that they can spread the virus to an uninfected partner.
Where can I find more information on genital warts? (top) For additional information on genital warts on HPV, please visit the National Institutes of Health website here.
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