Facts About Genital Warts

Genital warts, also known as condyloma, or condylomata acuminata, is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection. It is spread during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. Genital warts are the most easily recognised sign of genital HPV infection. 

Genital warts often occur in clusters and can be very tiny or can spread into large masses in the genital or anal area. In women the warts occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the cervix, uterus or around the anus. While genital warts are approximately as prevalent in men, the symptoms of the disease may be less obvious. When 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 the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person.

Genital warts often disappear even without treatment. In other cases, they eventually may develop a fleshy, small raised growth that looks like wadi. 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 the genital warts, a doctor will offer you one of several ways to treat them.

* Imiquimod, a topical immune response cream which you can apply to the affected area

* A 20% podophyllin anti-mitotic solution, which you can apply to the affected area and later wash off

* A 0.5% podofilox solution, applied to the affected area but shouldn’t be washed off 

* A 5% 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cream 

* Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)

* Pulsed dye laser

* Liquid nitrogen cryosurgery

If you are pregnant, you should not use podophyllin or podofilox because they are absorbed by the skin and may cause birth defects in your baby. In addition, you should not use 5-fluorouracil cream if you are trying to become pregnant or if there is a possibility that you could be pregnant.

If you have small warts, the doctor can remove them by freezing them, burning them or with laser treatment. Occasionally, the doctor will have to use surgery to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.

Some doctors use the antiviral drug interferon-alpha, 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, they do not get rid of the HPV virus, so warts can recur after treatment. However, the body's immune system typically clears the virus anywhere from 6 months to a year. There is even some suggestion that effective treatment of the wart may aid the body's immune response.

The virus that causes genital warts is spread by skin-skin contact. Condoms do not adequately protect against genital warts, because the infected spot may not be covered by a condom. The only reliable prevention is to have no skin contact with potentially infected tissue.

Read More

Information About Warts

Warts can be a particularly annoying condition to afflict any person. That is because it leads to a good deal of embarrassment and discomfort, disrupting normal life to varying extents. Like the old saying goes, Prevention is better than cure, it is always wiser to try and prevent a genital warts infection rather than falling prey to it and then seeking treatment. 

The good news is that genital warts prevention is easier than most people think it is. It is just necessary to know how the virus spreads, and then it is not that difficult to keep the infection at bay. It is highly contagious in nature, and the virus which causes the problem (Human Papillomavirus or HPV) is spread through skin-to-skin contact. As a first step it is important to know the symptoms and then maintain a distance from anyone in whom these symptoms are visible.

Genital warts, as the name suggests, affects the genitals and the areas around them, in both men and women. The area of occurrence of genital warts clearly establishes the fact that the infection primarily spreads through careless or unprotected sexual activities. Condoms, while offering a modest degree of protection, are not foolproof as they do not offer complete protection. Oral guards used while indulging in oral sex with an infected partner are not that secured as well. But condoms and other protections should still be used as they substantially enhance the genital warts protection level. In the final analysis, the only reliable genital warts prevention is to stay away from all sexual activity if any of the partners has been infected.

If there has been a detection, adopt a responsible attitude and don't have sex till it is fully cured. One should also bear in mind that non-sexual contact of the genitals (or the affected areas) also promotes the spread of the virus. So remember to exercise appropriate caution before indulging in any such contact. In recent times medicines has been found to protect women from the strains of HPV that cause 70% of all cervical cancers and 90% of all genital warts. Medicines are now prescribed to women ranging in age from 9 to 26. Vaccines are also being researched to administer them before an actual contamination. Currently research is underway to bring out a version of the vaccine that can be used in males as well.

Till then, we may just have to keep on using plain common sense to save ourselves from HPV. General risk factors, if avoided, will help in genital warts prevention. These include smoking, having multiple sexual partners, practicing unprotected sex and exposure to the other sexually transmitted infections. Weakened immune systems also pose a great risk and quickly invite infection. This underlines yet another benefit of having a healthy lifestyle. Stay healthy, practice safe sex and avoid unnecessary contact. By following these simple guidelines, genital warts prevention can become surprisingly easy. Warts do not have to slow you down one bit, treat them today so that you can feel better tomorrow.

Read More

Facts About Genital Warts

Condyloma acuminata or so-called genital wart are considered a benign, sexually transmitted disease that is commonly found around the rectum, penis and vagina. Papillomaviruses are the main cause of this growth. In the United States, about 500,000 people in the general population develop genital warts, which proves how common this condition is. For the 20-45% of sexually active people, women constitute the majority of the population affected by the virus. And because of the location of these warts, condoms are not as effective at protecting the person.

Causes
There are specific kinds of papillomavirus that can cause genital warts and some only causes growth in prominent parts of the human skin. Different kinds of virus may infect the genital area but not all are visible, some viruses can cause raised areas within the cervix that are not seen by the naked eye and only a microscope may prove its existence and give rough details. These lesser visible spots may not cause any symptoms although papillomavirus, specifically, is a major risk factor for one to develop cervical cancer. Therefore, it is important to seek immediate treatment.

Genital wart symptoms
Genital warts love moist and warm surfaces which is why it is often seen on the foreskin of the penis in men especially if the penis is not circumcised. Women experience growth around the vaginal wall, vulva, cervix and the perineal area. Because of the affinity, some warts tend to grow in nearby areas like the anus or inside the rectum; this happens to those who engage in anal sex. One thing in particular is that, people who have it in them are symptomatic although there is a typical pain and burning sensation on their genital area.

After the infection of the papillomavirus, warts tend to disappear within one to six months. Growth can be identified as pink, soft or moist swellings that grow rapidly and tend to appear as irregular and rough bumps. Warts usually accumulates in the same area and because of their rough surfaces, they seem to appear like small cauliflowers.

Who are prone to wart growth and infection?
People who are immunocompromised wherein their immune system doesn’t have the capability to battle out the virus within the body, examples are those undergoing chemotherapy.  Also, these tend to grow rapidly in women who are pregnant and those who already have skin inflammation.

Genital wart diagnosis
Usually, the diagnosis will be based from the wart appearance. Persistent and unusual-looking warts can be removed through surgical processes and be examined under a microscope for further evaluation if cancer might have occurred. In women, it is advisable that Pap smear be done in order to diagnose if there are signs of cancer growth caused by cervix warts.

Genital wart treatment
For people who have a strong immune system, they can lose genital warts in a couple of months and eventually control growth of further papillomavirus within their system. Most of the time, infection is gone after eight to ten months.

The treatment of genital warts has no satisfactory results and can leave scars that can become uncomfortable. Genital warts located outside can be removed by freezing, laser and even local surgery under anesthesia. Some warts located in the urethra can be eliminated by endoscopic surgery and are sometimes followed by the introduction of a chemotherapy drug.