Alternative names
Human papillomavirus, HPV, genital warts, condylomata acuminate, penile warts, venereal warts, condyloma.
What is HPV?
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of more than 100 viruses. Over 30 types of HPV can be passed from one person to another through sexual contact.
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Some types of HPV cause genital warts – single or multiple bumps that appear in the genital areas of men and women including the vagina, cervix, vulva, penis, and rectum. These are considered low-risk types.
High-risk types of HPV may cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, or penis.
What causes HPV?
HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and is very contagious. The most common way to get HPV is by skin-to-skin contact during oral, vaginal or anal sex with someone who has HPV.
The following factors put you at higher risk for getting genital warts and other complications of HPV:
Multiple sexual partners
Not knowing if someone you had sex with had STDs
Early age when you start being sexually active
Tobacco and alcohol use
Stress and other viral infections (such as HIV or herpes) at the same time
What are the symptoms of HPV?
In women, genital warts occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening to the uterus, or around the anus.
In men, genital warts are less common. If present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis. They may also appear on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus.
Rarely, genital warts can also develop in your mouth or throat if you have oral sex with an infected person.
Like many STIs, genital HPV infections often do not have signs and symptoms that you can see or feel. One study reported that almost half of women infected with HPV had no obvious symptoms.
How is HPV diagnosed?
A health care provider usually diagnose genital warts by seeing them.
In woman, HPV infection can be detected based on results from an abnormal Pap smear.
In some cases a health care provider may be able to identify some otherwise invisible warts in your genital tissue by applying acetic acid (vinegar) to areas of your body that might be infected. This solution causes infected areas to whiten, which makes them more visible.
How is HPV treated?
There are treatments for genital warts, though the warts often disappear without treatment.
Depending of factors such as the size and location of the genital warts, there are various ways of treatment.
Your health care provider could prescribe a cream or solution to apply to the warts. If the warts are small, they can also be removed with one of the following methods:
Freezing
Burning
Laser treatment
Large warts that are not respondent to other treatment may have to be removed surgically.
Although treatments can get rid of the warts, none get rid of the virus. Because the virus is still present in your body, warts often return after treatment.
What is the prognosis?
With proper treatment, genital wart outbreaks can be controlled. However, the warts frequently reappear after treatment. Even after you have been treated for HPV, you may still infect others.
When to call your doctor
When a current of past sexual partner is found to have genital warts.
When you have visible warts on your external genitals, itching, discharge, or abnormal vaginal bleeding.
Sexually active teenagers are very susceptible to HPV and should get screened for HPV infection regularly
How can HPV be prevented?
The best way to prevent getting an HPV infection is to avoid direct contact with the virus, which is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.
A vaccine called Gardasil has recently been released. It is highly effective in preventing persistent infection with two high-risk HPVs that cause most of cervical cancers and two types which cause almost all of genital warts.
Using a condom may also reduce your chances of being infected with HPV, however, condoms can't always cover all of the affected skin.
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