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Genital Warts
When we were children we avoided handling toads for fear of getting warts. Perhaps it is this particular vision of “warts” that have programmed the minds of people to overlook that tiny spot of raised flesh on their partner. Genital warts do not have to even remotely resemble those found on toads or even those on the end of a witches nose to actually be a “wart” that is in the family of the most sexually transmitted viruses in today’s world.Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease that is results in genital warts. There are over 100 strains or types of HPV. Over 30 of these are known to be sexually transmitted and can infect the genital area of both males and females. Genital warts can be found on the skin of the penis, vulva, labia, anus or the tissues covering the vagina and cervix.
Genital warts is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection today, with an estimated twenty million people currently infected. Fifty to 75% of sexually active men and women will contract genital warts at some point in their lives. Approximately 5.5 million Americans get a new genital warts infection each year.
The vast majority of human papillomavirus strains are symptomless and harmless. But some strains cause cervical cancer, including HPV-16, considered the riskiest and known to contribute to cervical cancer. Cervical cancer strikes 400,000 women worldwide every year, including almost 13,000 Americans. The global toll is much higher because women in developing countries cannot afford Pap smears, so doctors there are hoping anxiously for a vaccine.
The types of hpv that cause genital warts are spread primarily through sexual contact. With the majority of hpv strains showing little or no symptoms, most infected people are completely unaware they are infected yet they have the ability to transmit the virus to an intimate partner. It is rare for a pregnant woman to pass the HPV virus to their baby during vaginal delivery. A newborn that is exposed to HPV during delivery can develop warts in the larynx (voice box), which seems to be the most threatening of possibilities.
Most people can carry the virus that causes genital warts and not know it. The virus lives in the skin or mucus membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Other people develop visible genital warts.
Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pick or red swellings. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large. Some will cluster together to form a cauliflower looking shape. Genital warts can appear in the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin or thigh. Genital warts will typically appear within several weeks following sexual contact with an infected partner, however, genital warts have been known to lay in a dormant state for several months and even years.
Genital warts are diagnosed by visual inspection. Visible genital warts can be removed, but no one method of surgical removal is better than another.
Most women are diagnosed with genital warts on the basis of abnormal Pap smears. Pap smears are the primary screening tool for cervical cancer or pre-cancerous cell formations, many of which are cell changes related to HPV. Current HPV tests are sophisticated and expensive and are commercially available to women who have a confirmed abnormal Pap test. These tests cannot identify which HPV infections will lead to cervical cancer or pre-cancerous conditions.
Currently there is no cure for genital warts and the various strains of HPV. Although the infection usually goes away on it’s own, the host will continue to carry the virus and will remain infectious. It is believed that cancer related types are the strains most likely to persist.
All types of HPV can cause mild Pap smear abnormalities that do not have serious consequences. An estimated 10 of the identified genital warts strains of HPV can lead, in rare cases, to cervical cancer. Research has indicated that for most women (approximately 90%), cervical HPV infections have become undetectable within two years and only a small percentage endures a persistent infection. It is the persistent infections that are linked to cervical cancer.
Oftentimes genital warts will disappear even without treatment. Currently there is no way to give indication whether the genital warts will disappear or grow. Therefore, if you suspect you have genital warts, you should be examined and treated if necessary.
Precautionary measures are always advised. If you detect a spot on your partner’s skin that raises concern, don’t hesitate to discuss this with your partner and seek an informed medical opinion. It could very well be that your partner has not noticed the spot or simple thought it was just all a part of aging.
