Human Papillomavirus Defined
Human Papillomavirus or HPV is the virus that can cause warts, particularly genital warts. There are approximately 100 different types of the virus, which is spread through direct contact with someone who is infected with it. Some forms of the infection also cause some types of plantar or flat warts, these are not cancerous. HPV is one of the most common types of sexually transmitted diseases.
Currently, there is no cure for HPV, but there is a vaccine for females between the ages of 9 and 26. The vaccine helps to prevent the spread of the infection and can protect against four different types of it.
The Virus” Risks
People can have HPV and not know it because sometimes the signs are hidden, or the symptoms are so mild that they do not realize it. The detection is usually discovered through the result of a Pap test coming up abnormal. In women, the infection has been known to increase the risk of cervical cancer and can change the cervix. The infection can also cause cancers of the anus, mouth and genitals.
The following are risk factors that increase the chance of contracting HPV:
- The number of sexual partners both people have had.
- The age in which someone becomes sexually active.
- A weaker immune system.
- Having unprotected sexual contact.
The Cause of HPV
The HPV infection can be contracted when it comes in contact with an open cut in the skin. The infection that is associated with warts is mainly contracted through various forms of sexual contact.
It is not completely impossible for a woman who has HPV while giving birth to a child to pass it onto the child. If the child does get the infection, it mainly affects the child’s genital areas and the upper respiratory system. This has happened in rare cases, but should still be made aware of.
Signs and Symptoms
As stated above, there are many people with the virus who do not know that they have it. Others may have the following signs and symptoms:
- Warts, on the genitals, mouth, anus, thigh or cervix. They can typically a pink or flesh-color and flat or raised, little or big.
- Changes in the cervix that can be detected by a doctor.
- Lesions forming on your tongue, tonsils and genitals.
How to Rid the Signs
The embarrassing, uncomfortable symptoms of HPV can be removed in a variety of different ways. A physician can remove genital warts by surgical procedure, laser and freeze removal. A number of different creams may also be prescribed to destroy the wart tissue. The other types of warts related to the infection can be removed in similar manners, as well as, with certain types of skin safe acid that remove the wart one layer at a time.
Now You Know
There are about 10,000 women each year who are diagnosed with cervical cancer associated with HPV and about 4,000 who die from it each year. Now given the facts about human papillomavirus, what the signs are and how to protect yourself from it, you can prevent yourself and those you love from becoming a victim of it.
Learn more about ways to boost your immune system naturally here.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/tc/genital-warts-human-papillomavirus-topic-overview
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hpv-infection/DS00906/DSECTION=1
http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/human-papillomavirus-hpv
http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm
