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Health Topics: STI: Genital Warts/HPV
Genital warts are caused by specific strains of the Human Papilloma Virus. Between 500,000 and one million new cases of genital warts occur every year.
Common symptoms
- Warts on the genitals, in the urethra, in the anus and rarely in the throat
- Genital warts are flesh colored and soft to the touch. They may look like miniature cauliflower florets.
- Genital warts are usually painless but they may itch.
- Usually genital warts grow in more than one place and may cluster in larger masses.
- Untreated genital warts can grow to block the openings of the vagina, anus or throat and become quite uncomfortable.
Symptoms of genital warts usually occur 3 weeks to 6 months after infection. However, it can take up to a year for an individual to have any visible symptoms. Remember, a woman may have genital warts in the vaginal tract and on the cervix.
Genital warts often grow more rapidly during pregnancy or when an individual's immune system is weakened by:
- Diabetes
- HIV/AIDS
- Chemotherapy
- Hodgkin's disease
- Taking anti-rejection drugs
How genital warts are spread
- Vaginal, anal or oral intercourse spread genital warts
- Very rarely, genital warts spread to the fetus during childbirth
Diagnosis
- Only clinicians can correctly diagnose genital warts.
- Microscopic examination of tissue samples: A new test, Hybrid Capture, can detect very small amounts of the genital wart virus in fluid or tissue samples.
- Clinical evaluation of warts during a physical or gynecological exam
- Special magnifiers (colposcopes) can detect genital warts that cannot be seen with the naked eye on the cervix or in the vaginal tract.
- Pap test may reveal pre-cancerous conditions caused by genital warts. Early treatment will prevent cervical cancer.
Treatment
- There is no cure for Genital Warts. The symptoms can be treated in the following ways.
- Application of podophyllin or acid
- Standard surgery
- Laser surgery (vaporizing the wart with a beam of high-powered light)
- Cryosurgery (freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen)
- Injection of interferon
Prevention and protection
- Abstinence
- Condoms and other forms of latex offer some protection against genital warts though the virus may shed beyond the area protected by the latex
- Smokers more than non-smokers are more likely to develop genital warts. If infected, smokers have more reoccurrences of the genital warts.
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