Genital Warts (HPV) - Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

What Causes Genital Warts?

Genital warts are caused by various types of HPV (human Papilloma virus) and can appear on the skin anyplace in the genital part as a white or flesh colored, smooth, small bumps, or fleshy, larger, cauliflower like lumps. More than 100 different subtypes of HPV are recognized and about 30 of them in particular affect the genitals.
 
What Are The Most Common Symptoms?

When the symptoms appear the patient will see pinkish/white little lumps or bigger cauliflower shaped lumps on the genital area. Warts appear around or on the penis, the scrotum, the anus or the thighs. Warts In women develop around inside the vagina or vulva and on the cervix. Having warts on cervix may cause minor bleeding or in rare occasions an unusual colored discharge from vagina.

Warts may happen singly or in groups. They may itch but are usually painless. Sometimes they are difficult to be spotted. In severe cases, they may spread from the genitals the anus area, even without an anal intercourse.

Any suspicion about lumps and bumps on the genitals usually can be resolved by a quick visit to a doctor or sexual health clinic.

Treatment For Genital Warts

Once a person is infected, there won't be any treatment which can eliminate genital warts completely. Most of the times outbursts of genital warts become less frequent eventually, until the virus is cleared out of the body naturally.

Even after applying the treatment there is a chance of reappearance of the warts. Since Genital warts are caused by viruses, antibiotics will not affect them.

Common treatments are:

·Podophyllin resin is a brown liquid which is painted on the wart by practitioner and must be washed off after 4 hours. it may require more than one applications to work effectively.
 
·Podopfilox lotion/gel which the patient can apply it at home. It has some side effects but it's well-suited for home treatment.

·Cryocautery it affects by using nitrogen to freeze the persistent warts and is not suitable for children.
 
·Laser treatment can be expensive and is usually used for very extensive and tough to treat warts.

·Electrocautery - by using a super heat needle which is heated with electric current, the wart cells are burnt and blood vessels are cauterized. This procedure is usually carried out in a doctor's clinic only if other treatments have failed.

·Surgical excision - minor surgery is performed by the doctor under local anesthetic to remove the wart. The doctor or nurse should give the patient advice about the sexual relation whilst receiving treatment.

Non-prescription treatments are available for genital HPV, but it is advised to always seek medical advice. One must not try to treat genital warts by himself. See a doctor!

It's very important for a woman, who is pregnant or has plans to become pregnant, to inform the doctor. Podophyllin treatments could harm and disturb the developing baby and so an alternative treatment should be used instead.

To Your Health!