If you are sexually active, you have probably been exposed to the virus that causes genital warts, the human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 million people are infected with HPV every year. However, not all strains of HPV cause genital warts. Some cause common skin warts and others can cause cellular changes that can lead to cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis and oropharynx. For many people, an HPV infection never causes symptoms or harm because their body is able to clear itself of the virus naturally. However, in some cases, the virus can still be present in the body and become active if a person's immune system weakens due to illness or age.<\/p>\n
Finding out you have a sexually transmitted infection is never a pleasant surprise, but learning more about it and the treatments available can help put your mind at ease. So we give answers to some common questions about HPV and warts.<\/p>\n
# What causes genital warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 Genital warts are caused by certain types of sexually transmitted HPV. There are more than 100 types of HPV that can affect the genital area of women and men. But more than 90% of genital warts are caused by only two types: HPV 6 and 11.<\/p>\n # How common are HPV 6 and 11?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 1% of all sexually active women and men develop genital warts each year.<\/p>\n # How soon after contact do warts usually appear?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 This is one of the most frequently asked questions as a person who has warts, often the first thing they wonder is who has given it to them. Usually, warts appear within one to four months of infection with HPV. However, the virus can be kept under control by the immune system for much longer than that.<\/p>\n # Do all those exposed to HPV 6 and 11 get warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 No. Warts may appear after infection in some people and not appear at all in others, as their immune system has fought off the virus.<\/p>\n # Can HPV warts appear at any time in your life - even years after exposure?<\/strong> \u2192 Yes. Sometimes, they can appear later even a long time after the infection, when the person gets sick for example, or their immune system is compromised by chemotherapy or other drugs. Therefore, they do not only occur when you have a new sexual partner.<\/p>\n # How can sexually active people avoid getting HPV warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 Using condoms consistently reduces the risk of acquiring or transmitting the virus that causes warts. Also, interestingly, HPV infects rapidly dividing cells. So anywhere there is a small wound, scratch or abrasion, the body can pick up the virus and carry it into the cells.<\/p>\n # Are HPV warts transmitted only through genital contact?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 No, you can spread the virus from any liquid source to another. The same type of wart that develops in the genitals can also develop in the mouth and throat, and even inside the eyelids - but there must always be a source. We have to be very honest about sexual practices today. There is a lot of oral-genital intercourse. If one partner has warts in his or her mouth, the other partner can develop warts in the genitals if there is oral-genital contact.<\/p>\n # Can HPV warts lead to cervical cancer?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 The two types of HPV that cause most genital warts - types 6 and 11 - do not cause cancer. However, some cancer-associated HPV types have been found in genital warts. It is also possible to have more than one type of HPV at the same time, including those that can cause cancers in the genital area, such as cancers of the cervix, vulva or anus, or cancers of the mouth and throat. Having genital warts caused by non-cancer-causing HPV strains does not mean that you do not also have potentially cancer-causing HPV.<\/p>\n # Are women more likely than men to develop warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 No, but we have more statistics for women because doctors tend to see women much more regularly. Gynaecologists, for example, do Pap tests and visually inspect a woman's genitals at her annual gynaecological check-up.<\/p>\n # Can the Pap test detect HPV warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 No. Pap tests detect abnormalities in cervical cells that may be cancerous or precancerous. An HPV test can detect the presence of the virus in cervical cells.<\/p>\n # Are they easier to treat if discovered early?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 Yes. Don't wait if you think you might have genital warts. When you feel a lump, especially around the vaginal opening or behind the vagina, see your doctor.<\/p>\n # Are HPV warts dangerous during pregnancy?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 The virus can be transmitted before or during birth, but warts are not a significant health risk for the baby. However, the symptoms of genital warts can worsen during pregnancy because a woman's immune system is suppressed. The warts may grow to the point where they prevent the baby from being born. Keep in mind that warts in a pregnancy should always be treated in a way that is not harmful to the baby.<\/p>\n # Does the HPV vaccine protect against genital warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 Yes, the HPV vaccine currently used in Greece protects against HPV 6 and 11, which cause 90 percent of genital warts.<\/p>\n # What are the key things a woman should keep in mind about HPV warts?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2192 Always use prophylaxis during sexual intercourse. Always keep in mind that a person can have the virus that causes genital warts without having visible warts. Also, make sure that you pay as much attention to the health of the genital area as you do to other parts of your body.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you are sexually active, you have probably been exposed to the virus that causes genital warts, the human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 million people are infected with HPV every year. However, not all strains of HPV cause genital warts. Some cause common [...]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[546,547,260,326,40,348,350,340,342,360,36,74],"class_list":["post-4841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-35","tag-hpv","tag-547","tag-260","tag-326","tag-40","tag-348","tag-350","tag-340","tag-342","tag-360","tag-36","tag--el"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drathinatraianou.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}