Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: Learn to Recognize the Symptoms of Genital Warts
• Part 2 of 2: How to deal with genital warts
• Tips

Genital warts (genital warts) are growths or bumps that appear on the genitals of both men and women. This STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) is spread through unprotected intercourse with someone who has genital warts and through skin contact. In most cases, genital warts are caused by an infection with two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV: types 6 and 11). This STI is very common, with 500,000 to 1,000,000 people infected with HPV each year.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Learn to Recognize the Symptoms of Genital Warts

1. 1 Examine your genitals and anus for small pink or red outgrowths. Genital warts appear as small pink or red outgrowths on the genitals and sometimes in the anus. These small warts can be seen (or felt) in the vagina, labia, cervix, anus, penis, or urethra. Since the area of ​​the lesion varies, in some cases warts can be found on the oral mucosa, on the lips, tongue or on the pharyngeal mucosa.
   • Warts look like cauliflower tops and can be very small and difficult to see. Look for groups of warts (3-4 each) that grow and spread throughout the body.
2. 2 Pay attention to whether the warts are itchy and irritating. Genital warts are usually not painful, but they can cause irritation, itching, mild discomfort, and sometimes slight bleeding if you scratch them hard.
   • Be aware that genital warts can begin to develop as early as six weeks to six months after HPV infection (or later). Warts can be noticed several weeks after contact with an infected person, when the virus replicates in the human body and symptoms become apparent.
3. 3 Keep in mind that you can be infected with HPV without noticing the symptoms. Some people with HPV do not develop symptoms at all, so they themselves do not know that they are infected and infectious. This is why it is so important to be screened and tested for STIs to make sure you are not carrying the virus.
   • Other diseases are sometimes mistaken for genital warts: hemorrhoids, syphilis, pearl papules of the penis, preauricular papilloma.In addition, some skin cancers may initially manifest as genital warts. The only way to confirm that these outgrowths are genital warts is to be examined by a doctor and tested.

Part 2 of 2: How to deal with genital warts

1. 1 Seek medical examination and advice. Your doctor will examine the warts and growths on your body and confirm if they are genital warts, especially if you find small growths on the genitals or around the anus.
   • For women, the doctor may offer a full pelvic exam to check for the presence of warts on the cervix.
   • The doctor may take a sample of discharge from the urethra, cervical canal and vagina (a smear for flora) for examination and detection of other STIs (gonorrhea, chlamydia), as well as take a blood sample from a vein for syphilis and HIV.
2. 2 Let your doctor do an HPV test. HPV is a group of diseases, some of which can cause genital warts. During an examination for genital warts, your doctor may suggest that you get tested for HPV. For women, the procedure consists of collecting a smear and looking for any changes in the histological structure of the cervix, which may be symptoms of HPV. This virus can lead to cervical cancer in women, so it is very important to have an examination and take a smear on the microflora in time to monitor any possible changes in the uterine wall. There are types of HPV that cause genital warts, but do not cause cancer.
   • People with anogenital HPV are at high risk for a number of anogenital cancers. This is why it is important to tell your doctor that you may have genital warts so that they can screen for them.
   • Men are not screened.
3. 3 Discuss treatment options with your doctor. If your doctor confirms that you have genital warts, you will need to talk to your doctor about possible treatment for STIs. One option is to let the body fight off the virus and destroy the warts on its own. To do this, make sure that the area where genital warts appear as dry as possible, and also wear cotton underwear so that this area “breathes” well and is ventilated.
   • If warts begin to give you discomfort, they can be removed with several options for radical treatment - chemical, physical and mechanical methods. However, all these methods are not aimed at combating the cause of genital warts - the virus itself, so there is a high probability that warts will appear again.
   • During the period of HPV in the active phase, refrain from sexual intercourse, because it is at this time that the virus is most contagious.
   • Your doctor may prescribe medicated ointments to be applied directly to the area of ​​the wart to prevent it from spreading and speed up healing. Talk to your doctor about whether you can inject a drug (interferon) directly into the warts to remove them.
   • Warts can be removed using cryotherapy (cold) or electrocautery (cauterization of tissue with an alternating current of high frequency). The doctor should tell you about these procedures and discuss the possible risks and side effects with you.
   • In fact, any treatment for genital warts caused by HPV is quite ineffective, about 30–70% of people who underwent treatment experienced a relapse of the disease within six months.

Tips

• Talk to your doctor about the HPV vaccine. It protects against HPV strains that can cause cancer.
• In most cases, symptoms of infection are temporary, and the body copes with them on its own within a few days.