What Are Genital Warts?

Genital warts, also known as venereal warts, are abnormal growths that appear on the genitals. They might look like flat lesions, protrusions, or bumps that look like small cauliflowers. They can occur singly or in clusters, and can vary in size from so small that they’re barely visible to quite large. Typically, they grow on the vulva, vagina, and cervix in women, on the penis and the scrotum. They can also appear around the anus in both sexes (anal warts).

For most people, genital warts are no more than an inconvenient embarrassment, but in some they can cause pain, itching, and bleeding.

What Causes Genital Warts?

Genital warts, like all warts, are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are over one-hundred different strains of HPV. Of these, about forty can infect the genital area, and a fraction of these can cause genital warts. Roughly ninety percent of cases of genital warts are caused by strains 6 and 11. These two strains are considered “low risk” HPV varieties, because, unlike their “high risk” cousins, they are not associated with an increased risk of cancer.

How Do Genital Warts Spread from Person to Person?

Genital warts are spread though intercourse or simply by contact between the genitals. Some people may develop lesions in their mouth and throat after giving oral sex to someone with genital warts.

Diagnosis

Usually, a visual examination is all that will be required to diagnose an outbreak of genital warts. The physician might also apply a dilute vinegar solution that makes the growth more visible. Because many sexually transmitted diseases often occur together and can have similar symptoms, the doctor might also do tests for gonorrhea and Chlamydia.

Treatments

In most women, the warts go away of themselves after a time due to a successful immune system response. In some cases, the body was able to rid itself of most, but not all, of the virus, and periodic outbreaks can occur.

Currently, there are no treatments for the virus that is the underlying cause of the warts. However, the warts themselves can be treated. They can be removed through surgery, burned off with electric current, laser beams, or acidic creams, or frozen with liquid nitrogen. Creams are also available to locally boost the immune system so as to help the body rid itself of the warts.

These treatments are expensive, often painful, and do not cure the disease. Removal of the warts does not guarantee that they won’t come back. Additionally, as long as there are virus particles present, the disease can be spread to sexual partners.

Recently, a vaccine for HPV was introduced on the market. It confers immunity to strains 6 and 11, thereby drastically reducing the chance of developing genital warts, and also strains 16 and 18, the two strains that together account for about seventy percent of all cases of cervical cancer in the United States.

So far, the vaccine is only approved for use in women, although studies are examining its effectiveness in men. The vaccine is very safe and most women can benefit from taking it, although it is targeted to young girls who haven’t yet become sexually active. This is because the vaccine does nothing to protect against strains that have already been contracted, and since HPV is very common, older women will often already have encountered the virus. It also offers only partial protection to all the other types of genital HPV.

Learn more about ways to boost your immune system naturally here.

Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/genital-warts
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hpv-infection
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/hpv