What Are Genital Warts & How Can You Diagnose HPV?
(HPV) Genital Warts Symptoms, Treatment, Causes & Prevention | Home Cure:- Genital warts are a common sexually transmitted disease or STD, that is caused by a viral infection called Human papillomavirus (HPV).
There are over a hundred different types of this virus and warts look like small lumps which only happen on the genitals or around the back passage.
You can catch genital warts through sexual contact or close genital skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the virus.
Sometimes sex toys can pass on the infection and very occasionally it can be passed on from hand warts.
How Can You Prevent (HPV) Genital Warts & How Long Before You Get Symptoms?
You can protect yourself by either not having sex or getting the HPV vaccine. Condoms cannot completely prevent genital warts as it can still be passed on with skin-to-skin contact.
It can take weeks or months to develop warts after being infected with HPV. So, it is not necessarily from your current partner.
Most people infected with HPV don’t get warts, but can still be a carrier of the virus and pass it on to others.
What Are The Symptoms Of Genital Warts (HPV)?
Most people who catch the virus have no symptoms, but if you have symptoms you will get warts on the genitals. In men, these usually develop on the outer skin of the penis.
In women, warts usually develop on the outside of the vagina. Warts may sometimes also develop on the skin around the back passage, around the anus, inside the vagina, on the cervix, or the scrotum.
If you have warts around the anus, you may notice irritation and soreness there. Also, some people get bleeding or pain with sex-related to warts.
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Are Genital Warts (HPV) Ever Dangerous?
Human papillomavirus which causes genital warts to have lots and lots of subtypes and HPV subtypes six and eleven causes over 90% of genital warts.
But these particular subtypes do not increase your risk of cancer. However, HPV subtypes 16 and 18 cause many cancers, particularly cervical, anal, penal, vulval, and throat cancers.
Where Am I Going With this Infection (Genital Warts– HPV)?
The HPV virus causes lots of health problems and there are proven ways to prevent it.
How Do You Treat Genital Warts?
As with any virus, the best way is to never get it in the first place. You can do this by having the HPV vaccine.
Thankfully, children can now get the vaccine, which wasn’t around in my day – I wish that it was! I strongly encourage my patients to get their children vaccinated from the age of 10, as it is the best way to prevent future cancers and genital warts.
If you already have Warts and want to know how to get rid of them,
There Are Three Main Treatment Options For Genital Warts (HPV)
1: No Treatment.
Doing nothing is sometimes a good choice as about a third of genital warts will go away by themselves after six months.
2: Physical Treatments.
Cryotherapy, which is when a doctor freezes warts off with liquid nitrogen is a really common treatment, but it won’t get rid of the actual virus. It just removes the warty skin tissue.
This is a great option if you are pregnant or if you only have a small number of genital warts. Other physical treatments include laser removal, surgical removal, or electrocautery which is when you burn warts off.
3: Chemical Treatments.
If you’re looking to treat genital warts at home these are the best options.
For men, you can use a topical application called Condyline which is also called Podophyllotoxin.
Usually, you apply Condyline twice daily, for three days, then you have four days off. You keep doing this every week until the warts are gone, which may take up to four to five weeks.
It’s important to use the solution correctly because it can damage the normal skin. What I advise my patients to do is to use some vaseline around warts on the normal skin.
Dip the end of one of the plastic applicator sticks into the Condyline solution, apply that only to warts and let it dry.
For women or people who have anal warts, there is another very effective cream called Aldara or Imiquimod.
These come in little sachets and you apply the cream at night in a thin layer to warts and gently rub the cream in until it’s absorbed.
Give your hands a really good wash and go to bed. Usually, you have to apply this three times a week for up to 16 weeks.
When Is It Safe To Have Sex After Using Chemical Treatments For (HPV) Genital Warts
Sexual contact is not recommended when you are treating genital warts with Condyline or Aldara. You need to wait until warts have gone and your skin has completely healed.
If you do have sex – use a condom, for a few weeks even after warts have gone. After liquid nitrogen treatment, just wait until your skin feels back to normal before having sex again.
Can You Use Over The Counter Genital Warts Treatments?
Please never use wart treatments that are sold over the counter to treat genital warts. One – it’s not going to work and it’s not safe to use on your genitals or anus.
Does Your (My) Sexual Partner Need Genital Warts Treatment?
Not unless they have symptoms themselves. It’s probably a good idea to let them know you were getting treatment as they may wonder why you can’t have sex with them.
What If You Are Pregnant And Have Genital Warts?
When you are pregnant, your immunity changes and you get increased blood supply to the genitals.
This means warts can start growing and cropping up in new places and have a tendency to start breaking off or becoming friable.
Usually, the best treatment is liquid nitrogen, freezing them off, but it will depend on how many you have. So please see your doctor discuss the best treatment options.
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