Genital Warts – Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Genital warts are sexually transmitted infections. Few types of human papillomaviruses cause this infection, and it can pass through skin-to-skin contact such as during vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

In medical terminology, genital warts are referred to as condyloma acuminate. Human papillomavirus is extremely contagious, and it is responsible for the majority of sexually transmitted diseases in men and women.

Genital warts can vary from one to more; these are painless outgrowths at the surface of male and female reproductive parts. Sometimes genital warts may cause itching, pain, and discomfort. Human papillomavirus is also associated with cervical cancer in females. Therefore as soon as one partner notices any genital warts physician should be contacted immediately for treatment.

CAUSES OF GENITAL WARTS

There are approximately 100 distinct kinds of HPV diseases about 30 of which can be transmitted intimately. If you have been researching genital warts you could be feeling tired and a bit nervous. That’s because there are lots of doubts regarding the HPV virus along with the complications of unique strains of this virus.

Around 30 kinds of HPV can dwell in and around the vaginal and rectal regions however the majority of genital warts are caused by only two sorts of viruses (types 6 and 11), that do not result in cancer.

The human papillomavirus is not one virus, but instead a set of over 150 associated illnesses. Every one of them includes a predetermined amount of HPV kind. Approximately 90% of genital warts are brought on by HPV 6 and HPV 11.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Individuals with HPV disease may not develop visible warts, and the virus may go away by itself. As a consequence, you might not know if you or your partner have the virus.

If warts do appear, this sometimes happens from three months to many months, or years, after coming in contact with the virus. You may observe little, fleshy growths, lumps, or skin changes that might appear anywhere on or in the genital or rectal region.

In women, these warts may grow on the walls of the vulva and anus. In males, they can happen on the tip or shaft of the penis, the scrotum, or even the anus. Genital warts may also develop in the mouth or neck of somebody that had oral sexual contact with the infected individual.

• Little, flesh-colored, or Grey swellings on your genital region
• Many warts close together that carry a cauliflower-like Form
• Itching or distress from your genital region

CLINICAL COMPLICATIONS

Genital warts can contribute to the following clinical complications:

• Cervical cancer is pathologically correlated to genital HPV infections. Several types of Human papillomaviruses are also related to cancer of the vulva and cancer of the anus. Genital warts can also lead to several other cancer types such as cancer of the penis, and oral cancer (mouth and throat). Human papillomavirus infection does not necessarily cause cancer, but it is still vital for women to undergo a Pap smear test, mainly if the female has a history of human papillomavirus infections.
• Genital warts can lead to severe complications in pregnancy. Genital warts could expand, which makes it hard to urinate. Warts in the vaginal wall can lower the capability of vaginal cells to extend through childbirth. Massive warts on the vulva or from the anus can bleed if stretched through delivery.

RISK FACTORS

According to CDC, almost all sexually active individuals will get infected with a minimum of one kind of HPV at any stage throughout their lifetimes. The following risk factors can increase your risk of getting infected:

• History of sexually transmitted diseases
• Unprotected sex with an infected or noninfected partner
• Multiple sexual partners
• Becoming sexually active at an early age can also be among the risk factors

TREATMENT

You will merely be provided treatment when you have got visible warts. The treatment will be dependent on what exactly warts look like, exactly how many you have, and wherever they are.

The goal of therapy is to eliminate visible warts. How successful the treatment changes are contingent on the dimensions and sort of warts, so the treatment that is used and how great your immune system is in battling the virus.

Some individuals do not require treatment or else they choose not to have one. However, for many people, taking therapy is very likely to make warts go away faster. As Candida infections are brought on by a virus rather than bacteria, bacteria will not eliminate warts.

Visible warts can be taken out in several various ways. Putting lotion or a liquid on warts for a couple of days per week. It can typically be achieved by yourself in the home. You might need to apply this therapy for any variety of months.

Some lotions may weaken latex (rubber) condoms, diaphragms, and caps. Polyurethane condoms could be safely utilized. Ask the physician or nurse for more information.

Some prescription remedies could be embarrassing, but they are generally not painful. Treatments can lead to irritation and discomfort for a few days, or so the physician may advise that you utilize some over-the-counter medication.

UNTREATED GENITAL WARTS

If left untreated, genital warts can vanish, remain the same, or grow bigger in size or amount. As time passes, many warts will gradually go away without treatment. For many people, this might take quite a while, especially if you experience an illness that affects the way that your immune system functions, which makes it challenging to fight infection.

It is not typically damaging to your health when the warts are not treated but you will find them uncomfortable and might not enjoy how they look. Treating and removing warts can lessen the danger of you passing them to another person.

References

• 1. Chow, E. P., Read, T. R., Wigan, R., Donovan, B., Chen, M. Y., Bradshaw, C. S., & Fairley, C. K. (2015). Ongoing decline in genital warts among young heterosexuals 7 years after the Australian human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme. Sex Transm Infect, 91(3), 214-219.

• 2. Bollerup, S., Baldur-Felskov, B., Blomberg, M., Baandrup, L., Dehlendorff, C., & Kjaer, S. K. (2016). Significant reduction in the incidence of genital warts in young men 5 years into the danish human papillomavirus vaccination program for girls and women. Sexually transmitted diseases, 43(4), 238-242.

• 3. Larsen, H. K., Thomsen, L. T., Haedersdal, M., Dehlendorff, C., Schwartz Sørensen, S., & Kjaer, S. K. (2018). Risk of genital warts in renal transplant recipients—A registry‐based, prospective cohort study. American Journal of Transplantation.

• 4. Thomas, R., Steben, M., Greenwald, Z., Stutz, M., Rodier, C., DeAngelis, F., & Rampakakis, E. (2017). Recurrence of Human Papillomavirus External Genital Wart Infection Among High-Risk Adults in Montréal, Canada. Sexually transmitted diseases, 44(11), 700-706.

• 5. Yuan, J., Ni, G., Wang, T., Mounsey, K., Cavezza, S., Pan, X., & Liu, X. (2018). Genital warts treatment: beyond imiquimod. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 14(7), 1815-1819.

• 6. Tang, C., Jiang, J., You, S., & Cheng, W. (2017). Healthcare Costs Associated with Cervical Cancer, Precancerous Lesions, and Genital Warts Treatment in Taiwan. Value in Health, 20(9), A424-A425.

7. Anic, G. M., & Giuliano, A. R. (2011). Genital HPV infection and related lesions in men. Preventive medicine, 53, S36-S41.