Genital Warts – a Sexually Transmitted Infection
Introduction
Anogenital
warts or genital warts are small lumps that develop on the genitals and/or
around the anus (back passage). They are caused by a virus that can be passed
on by close sexual contact. If you have genital warts, you will usually be
advised to have tests to check for other sexually transmitted infections. They
may rarely infect the new born baby during birth if the mother has genital
warts.
Causative
Agents - caused by a virus called the human papilloma virus (HPV)
You
need close 'skin to skin' contact to pass on the virus to another. It may take
weeks or even months to develop warts after being infected with HPV. Most
people who are infected do not develop warts but they can pass on the HPV virus
to their contacts.
In men
the warts usually develop on the outer skin of the penis. In women the warts
usually develop on the vulva, just outside the vagina. They can occur in crops.
Some may only have one or two which is barely noticable. Warts may also develop
on the skin around the anus in both men and women. Rarely warts can occur in
mouth and nose and also inside the urethra and the cervix.
Genital
warts look like small, skin-coloured lumps on the skin.
Most of
the time they don’t cause any symptoms but sometimes cause irritation and
soreness, especially if they occur around the anus. Sometimes anogenital warts
can bleed or cause pain on intercourse.
If the
person has a lot of warts they can cause distress to the patient because it
becomes so unsightly. If you have warts inside your urethra or anus, this can
sometimes cause bleeding when you pass urine or bleeding from the anus.
There
is a risk for cervical cancer in women if they have anogenital warts.
Usually
genital warts can be diagnosed clinically without any tests. However, up to 1
in 4 people with anogenital warts also have another sexually transmitted
infection. Therefore swabs may be taken to test for other sexually transmitted
infections even if you do not have any other symptoms.
If
suspect it is best to go to a sexually transmitted diseases clinic where
treatment will be done. There are several treatment options; applying chemicals
and certain cauterization techniques to burn the lesions, surgical removal of
warts are some of them. However it takes a long time for the warts to clear
off. The warts can develop again because the HPV virus cannot be totally
eradicated. Your sexual partner/s may have to be referred to the clinic if
necessary. Never try to treat genital warts on your own.
Limit
sexual activity to one faithful partner.
Whenever
you have unprotected sex¸ always use a condom.
There
is a vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) now available in Sri Lanka to
prevent you against cervical cancer caused by HPV. But whether it prevents you
against genital warts is not proven.