Genital wart

Genital wartsvery contagious andspread during oral, genital, or anal sexan infected partner. About two-thirdspeople who have sexual contact withpartnergenital warts will develop warts, usually within three monthscontact.

In women,warts occur onoutsideinside ofvagina, onopening (cervix) towomb (uterus), or aroundanus. In men, genital wartsless common. If present,usuallyseen ontip ofpenis. They also may be found onshaft ofpenis, onscrotum, or aroundanus. Rarely, genital warts also can develop inmouth or throat ofperson who has had oral sexan infected person.

Genital warts often occurclusterscan be very tiny or can spread into large masses ingenital or anal area.

Howgenital warts diagnosed?

A doctor or other health care worker usually can diagnose genital warts by seeing them onpatient. Womengenital warts also should be examinedpossible HPV infection ofcervix.

The doctor may be ableidentify some otherwise invisible warts ingenital tissue by applying vinegar (acetic acid)areassuspected infection. This solution causes infected areaswhiten, which makes them more visible, particularly ifprocedure called colposcopyperformed. During colposcopy,doctor usesmagnifying instrumentlook atvaginacervix. In some cases,doctor takessmall piecetissue fromcervixexaminesundermicroscope.

A Pap smear test also may indicatepossible presencecervical HPV infection. InPap smear,laboratory worker examines cells scraped fromcervix undermicroscopesee if theycancerous. Ifwoman’s Pap smearabnormal, she might have an HPV infection. Ifwoman has an abnormal Pap smear, she should have her doctor examine her furtherlook fortreat any cervical problems.

What istreatmentgenital warts?

Genital warts often disappear even without treatment. In other cases,eventually may developfleshy, small raised growth that looks like cauliflower. Thereno waypredict whetherwarts will grow or disappear. Therefore, if you suspect you have genital warts, you should be examinedtreated, if necessary.

Depending on factors such assizelocation ofgenital warts,doctor will offer you oneseveral waystreat them.

Imiquimod, an immune response cream which you can apply toaffected area

A 20 percent podophyllin anti-mitotic solution, which you can apply toaffected arealater wash off

A 0.5 percent podofilox solution, applied toaffected area but shouldn’t be washed off

A 5 percent 5-fluorouracil cream

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)

If youpregnant, you should not use podophyllin or podofilox because theyabsorbed byskinmay cause birth defectsyour baby. In addition, you should not use 5-fluorouracil cream if youexpecting.

If you have small warts,doctor can remove them by freezing (cryosurgery), burning (electrocautery), or laser treatment. Occasionally,doctor will haveuse surgeryremove large warts that have not respondedother treatment.

Some doctors useantiviral drug alpha interferon, whichinject directly intowarts,treat warts that have returned after removal by traditional means. The drugexpensive, however,does not reducerate thatgenital warts return.

Although treatments can get rid ofwarts, none gets rid ofvirus. Becausevirusstill presentyour body, warts often come back after treatment.

PregnancyChildbirth

Genital warts may causenumberproblems during pregnancy. Sometimesget larger during pregnancy, makingdifficulturinate. Ifwartsinvagina,can makevagina less elasticcause obstruction during delivery.

Rarely, infants bornwomengenital warts develop wartstheir throats (laryngeal papillomatosis). Although uncommon,ispotentially life-threatening condition forchild, requiring frequent laser surgeryprevent obstruction ofbreathing passages. Research onuseinterferon therapycombinationlaser surgery indicates that this drug may show promiseslowingcourse ofdisease.