Genital Warts Information For Your Health

The Human Papilloma Virus - an STD

Imagine taking a shower. You are busy getting clean. You are scrubbing hard and then you realize: Something does not feel right. You look and find a wart right in your private place. Doesn''t that sound pleasant?

Cause Of Genital Warts

Genital Warts are infections caused by the Human Papilloma Virus- an STD. As most STD's go, you can receive HPV from skin contact through sexual intercourse with someone that has the virus. The warts are not actually transmitted; they are only reactions the body goes through after being infected.

In men warts will be found on the genital area. In women they are usually found outside or inside the vagina and cervix. This is a disadvantage women have over men since an internal wart will take longer to notice.

Warts can also be found around the mouth, throat or anus if you have sexual encounters using such body parts. The warts can be big, which will allow you to know you are infected quickly, or they can be small.

Sometimes they can be small enough to not be noticeable; they could simply be mistaken for goose bumps. The warts however do serve a "good" function, It is thanks to them that symptoms such as bleeding, itching, or just pain occur, thus allowing you to realize you need to see a doctor. Some people get symptoms right away; some get them after a few weeks, months, or years; some never get them even if they have warts.

Genital Warts Treatments

Well now that you have them you should find out how to treat them. Your doctor will of course take a sample tissue to make sure it is Genital Warts and not something else. Treatment is actually not necessary; the warts will usually go away by themselves and not reappear for a long time. However people who have symptoms or who just do not like to see the warts can and will ask for treatment. Wartrol is a popular home treatment.

Large warts may require surgical removal, but small warts can often be removed simply by burning, freezing, or laser treatment. There are prescription drugs available to get rid of warts, however they are expensive and do not seem to particularly slow down the rate at which the warts come back.

Do remember that while treatment will remove warts and symptoms, the HPV virus never goes away, and therefore the warts can come back. This also means you can spread the virus even if you do not have warts present. So what do you do if you want to have sex, but do not want to infect your partner?

If you have warts, especially scarred ones, ideally you should wait for when they go away. If you cannot, be sure to wear a condom. If you are a woman, be sure to tell your partner to wear a condom. Condoms are not perfect though so you should not have sex if your warts spread more than 1 inch away from the area of penetration.

Also you should talk with your partner and recommend the Gardasil vaccine. It is a vaccine that will prevent against four types of HPV. It is usually administered to women, but if you are infected with HPV and your male partner is not, he could ask to receive the vaccine too.

View the short videos for additional genital warts information.