The Signs Of Genital Warts. Helpful Info To Remember
October 26th, 2009HPV (human papillomavirus) is sexually transmitted illness and occurs in 50% of sexually active adults. It is as well known as genital warts or venereal warts. The truth is that HPV is a serious infection. It should be as well mentioned that there are over a hundred known strains of HPV, some are low-risk that can cause warts, others are high-risk and they are known to cause the dreaded cervical cancer and anal and other genital cancers.
The other crucial aspect of this disease that you should be familiar with is that HPV is transmitted through contact with the skin or mucosal membrane of an infected person during sexual activity. A latency stage may take place for months or even years from onset of the infection in which no symptom is evident.
What are the symptoms?
Well, genital warts are lumps that, in fact, may vary in appearance. As a matter of fact most of warts are flesh or gray in color, often round, sometimes cauliflower in shape, and, in addition, may be varied in size. It is additionally significant to point out that sometimes the bumps are barely noticeable as a result of the fact that they can be even smaller than the tip of a ballpoint pen.
As regarding women, it should be stated that the growths may occur on the vulva, in the walls of vagina or inside the cervix while talking about men, there is a need to point out that they generally occur on the tip and sometimes the shaft of the penis, or on the scrotum. It will be useful for you to know that the growth can likewise happen inside and on the periphery of the anus, in the area of the groin, and the inner thighs in both women and men. Thought t happens quite infrequently, but still it is worth to state that the warts can even appear in the mouth or inside the throat as caused by oral sex with a carrier of the disease.
This is a very unpleasant disease since the warts may cause itching and irritation in the areas where they occur. They may as well cause bleeding during sexual intercourse. The other damaging feature of this condition is that warts may weaken the walls of the vagina and compromise its stretchability which is essential to childbirth.
The other essential fact to take into consideration is that sometimes an infected mother may transmit the virus to her baby during natural vaginal birth. Talking about these cases it should be stated that the infected child may develop growth in the airway, a condition called respiratory papillomatosis. As you understand this is a hazardous situation that may even call for a surgical incision in order to take away the airway blockage.
So, now you are knowledgeable about what genital warts and their key symptoms are. The second part of this article is devoted to the most common misdiagnosis.
Firstly you need to understand that it is really significant to know the signs of genital warts as there are a few diseases with similar symptoms that are usually mistaken for venereal warts. Actually, there are fairly similar lesions called hirsuties papillaris genitalis in men and vestibular papillae of the vulva in women that are actually benign though nonstandard skin conditions.
It is also worth for you to bear in mind that the other general skin condition called Fordyce spots can be observed on the penis or vulva and may also be mistaken for warts. Also, it is important to mention that there is a viral infection known as molluscum contagiosum. It is sexually transmitted disease in adults and shows analogous pearly lesions in the genital area. It should be pointed out here that this disease is less harmful than venereal warts.
How to Cure?
As it was already mentioned, genital warts can infrequently cause irritation, itching and bleeding. Besides, they are seen as consistent source of embarrassment as a result a lot of people select to have them removed. In order to do this prescription topical medications can be used. It is also principal for you to consider that there are doctor-performed procedures, for example, cauterization, surgical incision, cryosurgery and laser removal. The point is that taking out genital warts does not guarantee elimination of the viral infection. Thus, the warts may clear altogether after treatment or happen again or even worsen over time.
Read more about genital warts in men and genital warts in women on the genital warts.
