subject: What Are Genital Warts? [print this page] What Are Genital Warts? What Are Genital Warts?
A wart is a firm abnormal elevated blemish on the skin that is caused by a virus. A genital wart is a wart that is located in or around the genital areas, which include the vulva, vagina, anus or cervix in females and the penis, anus or scrotum in males. These warts can appear as either bumps or growths. They can appear to be either raised or flat; one or many; small or large. They look white or flesh-colored. These warts are not very easily noticeable to the naked eye. In most cases, a person with genital warts is not able to identify them as warts and does not know what they are.
The main cause of genital warts is a group of viruses called the human papilloma virus or simply HPV. The varieties of HPV are many and extend beyond over 100 types. Some of the HPV viruses cause warts that are similar to the ones you see on people's feet and hands. The HPV viruses that cause these warts are different from the ones that cause genital warts. The genital warts are caused by more than 30 kids of HPV viruses. These genital warts can be spread from one person to another through sexual intercourse which involves contact of the vagina, anus or any other oral genitals. In a number of cases, though this happens quite rarely, genital warts are transmitted from the mother to her baby during labor.
HPV infections are commonly seen in teenagers and in young adults. About fifty percent of the people in the world can have HPV infections at a point in their life. A person with many sexual partners is more likely to contract HPV infections.
The disadvantage of HPV infections is that most of them do not have any signs or symptoms. Due to this, an infected person can transmit the infection to another person without his own knowledge or without the knowledge of the other person. A very few people get visible genital warts. The genital warts do not generally itch or hurt, thus contributing to why most people may not know that they have them. Doctors can diagnose genital warts by closely examining a person's skin, sometimes with the help of a magnifying glass. He may also make use of a special solution that makes them easy to see. A pap smear and other tests can also be used to detect genital warts.
It is the belief of many experts that when a genital wart becomes visible, the virus may have become more contagious. However, HPV can also spread without visible warts. These warts, unless treated could grow in size and increase in number. They go away without any treatment many times but that does not imply that they can be ignored. Genital warts can spread to other people and they pose great threat to females as they can lead to problems in the cervix that could eventually also cause cervical cancer. As genital warts can have such serious consequences, they should be detected and treated as soon as possible.
