Do You Have a HPV Symptom?

What Every Women Needs To Know About Genital Warts

Plus the cervix cancer and HPV connection
what you need do to identify a HPV symptom

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus which affects humans.

Some of its effects are classed as sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Like many STDs, genital HPV infections often do not have visible signs and symptoms.

One study in the USA sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported that almost half of the women infected with HPV had no obvious HPV symptoms.

Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected and show no HPV symptom.

Most HPV infections appear to be temporary and are probably cleared up by the body's immune system.

One study in college students showed that in 91 percent of women with new HPV infections, HPV became undetectable within two years*.

However, reactivation or reinfection is possible.

The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and some people get a visible HPV symptom which include:

• genital warts

• pre-cancerous changes cervix

• pre-cancerous vulva

• pre-cancerous anus

• pre-cancerous penis

  
  

Genital warts usually appear as:

• Soft

• Moist

• Pink, or flesh-colored

swellings, usually in the genital area.

They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped.

They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh.

After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all.

Very rarely, HPV infection results in anal or genital cancers.

However, persistent cervical infection with certain types of HPV is the single most important risk factor for cervical cancer.

HPV type 16 accounts for more than 50 percent of cervical cancers and high-grade dysplasia-abnormal cell growth. HPV type 16, along with types 18, 31, and 45 account for 80 percent of cervical cancers.*

There is NO known cure for HPV - although in most women the infection goes away on its own.

Common HPV Symptom: Genital Warts

Genital warts or (or condyloma) is a very contagious sexually transmitted disease.

Caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), it is spread during:

• oral

• genital

• anal sex

with an infected partner.

About two-thirds of people who have sexual contact with a partner with genital warts will develop warts, usually within three months of contact.

In women, the warts, a HPV symptom, occur:

• on the outside and inside of the vagina

• on the opening (cervix) to the womb (uterus)

• around the anus

In men, a HPV symptom such as genital warts are less common. If present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis.

A HPV symptom such as gential warts also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus.

Rarely does a HPV symptom such as genital warts develop in the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person.

Genital warts is a HPV symptom that often occurs in clusters and can be very tiny or can spread into large masses in the genital or anal area.

HPV symptom: Genital Warts Diagnosis

A doctor or other health care worker usually can diagnose a HPV symptom, genital warts, by seeing them on a patient.

Women with a HPV symptom such as genital warts also should be examined for possible HPV infection of the cervix.

There is evidence that infection by the HPV virus is a cause of cervical cancer.

The doctor may be able to identify some otherwise invisible warts in the genital tissue by applying vinegar (acetic acid) to areas of suspected infection.

This solution causes infected areas to whiten, which makes them more visible, particularly if a procedure called colposcopy is performed.

During colposcopy, the doctor uses a magnifying instrument to look at the vagina and cervix. In some cases, the doctor takes a small piece of tissue from the cervix and examines it under the microscope.

A Pap smear test also may indicate the possible presence of cervical HPV infection.

In a Pap smear, a laboratory worker examines cells scraped from the cervix under a microscope to see if they are cancerous.

If a woman's Pap smear is abnormal, she might have an HPV infection.

If a woman has an abnormal Pap smear, she should have her doctor examine her further to look for and treat any cervical problems.

Genital Warts Treatment

Genital warts often disappear even without treatment.

In other cases, they eventually may develop a fleshy, small raised growth that looks like cauliflower.

There is no way to predict whether the warts will grow or disappear. Therefore, if you suspect you have genital warts, you should be examined and treated, if necessary.

Depending on factors such as the size and location of the genital warts, a doctor will offer you one of several ways to treat them.

• Imiquimod, an immune response cream which you can apply to the affected area

• A 20 percent podophyllin anti-mitotic solution, which you can apply to the affected area and later wash off

• A 0.5 percent podofilox solution, applied to the affected area but shouldn’t be washed off

• A 5 percent 5-fluorouracil cream

• Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)

If you are pregnant, you should not use podophyllin or podofilox because they are absorbed by the skin and may cause birth defects in your baby. In addition, you should not use 5-fluorouracil cream if you are expecting.

If you have small warts, the doctor can remove them by freezing (cryosurgery), burning (electrocautery), or laser treatment. Occasionally, the doctor will have to use surgery to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.

Some doctors use the antiviral drug alpha interferon, which they inject directly into the warts, to treat warts that have returned after removal by traditional means.

The drug is expensive, however, and does not reduce the rate that the genital warts, a HVP symptom, return.

Although treatments can get rid of the warts, none gets rid of the virus.

Because the virus is still present in your body, warts, a HVP symptom, often come back after treatment.

Genital Warts: Pregnancy and Childbirth

Genital warts may cause a number of problems during pregnancy.

Sometimes they get larger during pregnancy, making it difficult to urinate. If the warts are in the vagina, they can make the vagina less elastic and cause obstruction during delivery.

Rarely, infants born to women with genital warts develop warts in their throats (laryngeal papillomatosis).

Although uncommon, it is a potentially life-threatening condition for the child, requiring frequent laser surgery to prevent obstruction of the breathing passages.

Research on the use of interferon therapy in combination with laser surgery indicates that this drug may show promise in slowing the course of the disease.

HPV Symptom: Common skin warts

Some types of HPV (e.g. HPV 1) cause common skin warts, such as those found on the hands and soles of the feet (plantar wart). These types of HPV do not cause genital warts.

HPV Symptom: Cancer

Some types of HPV (HPV 16,18,31) can cause cervical cancer, anal cancer, and cancer of the penis (a rare cancer).

These viruses have also been associated with cancers of the head and neck. These tumours often have HPV viral sequences integrated into the cellular DNA.

Some of the genes encoded by these viruses are known to act as oncogenes. The viral E6 protein binds to and degrades the cellular protein p53 while the viral E7 protein interferes with the retinoblastoma protein. HPV 30, 40 cause laryngeal carcinoma.

Most HPV infections do not progress to cervical cancer. If a woman does have abnormal cervical cells, a Pap test will detect them. It is particularly important for women who have abnormal cervical cells to undergo colposcopy so that precancerous and cancerous lesions can be detected and treated early, if necessary.

HPV Symptom Research

Scientists are doing research on two types of HPV vaccines. One type would be used to prevent infection or disease (warts or pre-cancerous tissue changes). The other type would be used to treat cervical cancers.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3964263.stm) Researchers are testing both types of vaccines in people.

HPV Symptom: Demopgraphic USA

Human papillomavirus is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted disease in the United States.

For example, health experts estimate that there are more cases of genital HPV infection than of any other STD in the United States.

According to the American Social Health Association, approximately 5.5 million new cases of sexually transmitted HPV infections are reported every year. At least 20 million Americans are already infected.

TRACKING THE HIDDEN EPIDEMICS 2000

• An estimated 5.5 million people become infected with HPV each year in the United States, and an estimated 20 million Americans are currently infected.*

• An estimated 75 percent of the reproductive-age population has been infected with sexually transmitted HPV.*

• An estimated 15 percent of Americans ages 15 to 49 are currently infected.*Studies repeatedly show high levels of HPV infection in women, with the highest levels among young women.

• A recent U.S. study among female college students found that an average of 14 percent became infected with genital HPV each year. About 43 percent of the women in the study were infected with HPV during the three-year study period.*

• Typical prevalence of HPV for women under the age of 25 is between 28 and 46 percent.*

• Although less data are available on HPV among men, levels of current infection in men appear to be similar to those in women.*

• HPV may be an even greater problem for HIV-positive men and women. HIV-positive individuals have a higher prevalence of HPV infection and precancerous lesions on the cervix and anus than HIV-negative individuals. Co-infection with HIV and HPV is most likely due to shared risk behaviors for both diseases, as well as an increased susceptibility to HPV because of a compromised immune system.

  • A San Francisco study of gay and bisexual men found that 60 percent of HIV-negative men had HPV, with almost universal HPV infection among HIV-positive individuals with severely compromised immune systems.*

  • Similarly, a six-city study among high risk and HIV-infected women found that 26 per-cent of HIV-negative women were infected with HPV, but 70 percent of HIV-positive women with severely comprised immune systems were infected with HPV.*

   

HPV Prevention

HPV Prevention.

The only way to prevent getting an HPV infection is to avoid direct contact with the virus, which is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.

If one's sexual partner has warts that are visible in the genital area, one should avoid any sexual contact until the warts are treated.

Studies have not confirmed that male latex condoms prevent transmission of HPV itself, but results do suggest that condom use may reduce the risk of developing diseases linked to HPV, such as genital warts and cervical cancer.

*Facts and Figures taken from: http://www.cdc.gov website

This article has been adapted from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Do you have a HPV symptom question? Call a STD Hotline

Copyright Notice:

women-starefrenchie1108.jpg by frenchie1108