Archive for the ‘Genital Warts’ Category

The treatment options for genital warts are limited to topical if at all possible.

When a healthcare provider has to resort to some of the other methods he has several to choose from.

The Choices

Liquid nitrogen called Cryocautery freezes the more persistent warts every 1 to 3 weeks, until the wards are gone.

A laser treatment uses an intense beam of light, and is usually used on larger tough-to treat warts.

Electrocautery-an electric current is used to super-heat a needle which burns the wart cells and cauterizes the blood vessels. This is done with a local anesthetic. This isn’t a first line of treatment; it is used after other treatments have failed.

Surgical excision is done in the doctor’s office and it is minor surgery with local anesthetic.

Interferon injections are used for genital warts that don’t go away after they are treated with the other methods.

Treatment of genital warts doesn’t cure the infection, thought it is thought to lessen it.

Side Effects

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is an in office procedure where your doctor places liquid nitrogen spray on warts to destroy them. This procedure is valuable because doctors can perform it even during pregnancy. Side effects include some pain at the application site and inflammation following the procedure. Repeat application is often necessary.

Laser Therapy

Your doctor can perform laser therapy at a surgical center. Patients undergoing treatment with Laser therapy for removal of genital warts need anesthesia. Condyloma tissue absorbs energy from the laser, which heats up and evaporates the wart. Usually laser therapy results in a 100 percent clearing of genital warts, but recurrence rates may be as high as 45 percent.

Excision procedures

Your doctor may also excise genital warts using anesthesia. Complications from excision include infection and bleeding. This may be an alternative for patients where large warts do not respond to chemical treatments.

Genital Wart Clearance Rates for Various Treatments

Therapy Clearance Rate (%)

Cryotherapy 63–88%

Electrosurgery 61–94%

Imiquimod 37–56% Topical

Interferon (topical) 6–90%

Interferon (intralesional) 17–63%

Laser surgery 23–52%

Podofilox 45–77% Topical

Podophyllin 32–79%

Surgical excision 35–72%

Trichloroacetic acid 50–81% Topical

Placebo or no treatment 0–56%

The Long and The Short of it

Genital warts aren’t just another short range problem. This is a one that can appear again and again. Science isn’t closer to a cure. This is something you can’t forget about.

It is important to return regularly for treatment until all of the genital warts have gone so the doctor or nurse can check progress and make any necessary changes in your treatment. Sometimes treatment can take a long time.

The majority of people whose genital warts initially disappear will get a recurrence.

In the majority of cases, the immune system keeps the virus under control and eventually destroys it a few years after the initial infection.

You can have it cut or burnt but there are no perfect treatments. Prevention prevails and there is a remarkable list of natural ways to ensure that you stay free of genital warts.  We will publish a guide with everything you need to know about natural and green ways to approach HPV infections.

HPV Infection In Men

HPV infection in men causes numerous health problems. Most of the information in the media focuses on women. Since this virus increases their risk of getting cervical cancer.

HPV FACTS

Men it turns out have a fair amount of risk. There is the pervasive idea that HPV poses minimal treat to men’s health, while it could dramatically affect women’s lives, it can affect men’s in a smaller dose. The question is how many people does HPV have to affect to receive and cultivate an interest?

HPV is probably as common in men as in women. It is not as easily diagnosed in men as in women. Genital HPV is mainly passed to men through vaginal and anal sex, the same way it is in women.

There is no approved test available to detect HPV in men. While women have the Pap test, there are no tests to detect HPV-related cancers in men.

HPV infection in men can increase a man’s risk of getting genital cancer. Cancer of the penis is not a common cancer. However, anal cancer is now almost as common in men and women who have anal sex as cervical cancer was in women before the introduction of the Pap test.

ANAL CANCER

Anal cancer is on the rise in both sexes. Research by author Lisa G. Johnson PhD, statistical-research associate in Fred Hutchinson’s Public Health Sciences Division, found the incidence rates of anal cancer have increased significantly in the past 30 years, jumping 160 percent in men and 78 percent in women.

This number can also be expressed as 1 in 624 men and women will be diagnosed with cancer of the anus, anal canal, and anorectum during their lifetime

In a study led by epidemiologist Janet Daling, Phd, a member of Fred Hutchinson’s Public Health Sciences Division, tested for the presence of human papillomavirus or HPV in both blood and tumor tissue. It also measured livestyle factors associated with the disease such as smoking, sexual orientation, number of partners and history of anal penetration. Having anal fistulas (abnormal openings) also increases the risk.

“We found that infection with HPV is necessary in most if not all cases of anal cancer, as close to 90 percent of the tumors studied were positive for the virus,” said Daling, a pioneer in studying the link between HPV and anogenital-cancer risk.

GENITAL WARTS

Like women, men do not have symptoms with HPV unless it is the type that causes genital warts. These warts can appear around the anus, on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thighs.

Genital warts are the first symptom that you may get with low-risk HPV strains that cause warts.

Genital warts can go away on there own, and it takes awhile for all warts to appear. If you start treatment as soon as they appear you may need other treatments later on.

HPV CONSIDERATIONS

ORAL CANCER

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), published a study that links papillomavirus (HPV) to an increased risk of a kind of oral cancer seen more often in men.

The study shows that men and women who reported having six or more oral-sex partners during their lifetime had a nearly nine fold increased risk of developing cancer of the tonsils or at the base of the tongue. Of the 300 study participants, those infected with HPV were 32 times more likely to develop this type of oral cancer than those who did not have the virus. This type of oral cancer is more prevalent in men.

According to John Hopkins’ researcher Dr. Maura Gillison, who worked on the study: “When you look at the cancers associated with HPV in men-including penile cancer, anal squamous cell carcinoma, oral cancers-it’s very close to the number of cases of cervical cancer that occur in the U.S. in women every year. We need to adjust the public’s perception…that only women are at risk.”

Men are both carriers and recipients of the HPV virus, and currently have some of the same risk as women. Men can’t afford to be complacent about HPV infections. Their risk may be different, but to assume that there is no comparison to a women’s risk is unfounded.

To find out more information about HPV Virus in Women, you can follow this link.

Differentiating Genital Warts

Differentiating genital warts from pimples, bumps and harmless skin tags, is not as easy as it sounds.

GENITAL WARTS APPEARANCE CONFUSION

The appearance of genital warts varies from small multiple, finger-like projections, to single larger type of bumps. This makes genital warts a little tricky to identify

Skin tags have sent many sexually active people to the doctor’s office. Pimples appearing in inappropriate places can be mistaken for warts to an untrained eye.

Molluscum contagiosum is a relatively common viral infection of the skin that often affects children. It shows up as firm bumps (papules) that are painless and usually disappear within a year without treatment. Molluscum contagiosum may affect adults, and it involves the genitals. It is considered a sexually treansmitted disease (STD).

The molluscum contagiosum bumps are typically (2 to 5 millimeters across) and do not grow or swell. They are smooth, pear-like, flesh colored bumps. They appear singly or in groups on the face, neck, chest, stomach, and groin area.

GENITAL WARTS APPEARANCE

Genital warts grow on or around the internal or external genitals, they can be found on or around the anus or penis and/or in or around the vagina.  They are rough textured and have the appearance of a wart. They sometimes look like the garden variety of warts that can appear anywhere on the body.  If they go untreated they can grow quite large and form masses that look somewhat like a cauliflower.

Warts appear as bumps and growths; they can be flat or raised single, groups, small or large. They tend to be whitish or flesh colored. They are not always visible to the naked eye,

Genital warts can be dry and itchy. Many people have no symptoms, the warts do not hurt or itch. They can be very small and well hidden. A doctor has to examine the skin closely and use a special solution to make the warts easier to see.

They can cause lesions and sores, and increased vaginal discharge. Also, they are known to cause abnormal menstruation.

GENITAL WARTS TAKE THE RIGHT APPROACH

A person who has been exposed to genital warts may have warts appear any time from several weeks to several months after exposure. They can take longer to show up in some people. There are people that are given the all clear, and then 20 or so months later the genital warts appear.

People who are sexually active should be aware of the possibility that the virus can live in the body for a very long time without causing any symptoms.

If you are sexually active let your doctors know. If there are any signs or warts that you can’t see or feel, he will be able to spot them.

With genital warts its location, location, and location, this is a clue to what is developing. These are areas where genital warts reside.

In a place of uncertainty you have to rely on an authority, in this case a healthcare provider with experience in HPV manifestations.

Your doctor will examine you, make a diagnosis, and then provide treatment. Genital warts can go away on there own. But waiting and staying in the dark isn’t something that will improve the outcome.

Click here for more information about Genital Warts

WHY MEDICAL TREATMENT

If you waited awhile and the warts are still present it is a good idea to seek treatment.

Genital warts can grow if you do not get them treated. If you are sexually active, you also risk infecting your partner.

Left untreated, genital warts can grow larger, bleed, and cause pain or itching. Larger warts and clusters usually require treatment. Genital warts that haven’t gone away can remain unchanged, but they can increase in size and number. You can’t count on genital warts going away on there own. There is a chance that the warts can spread when left untreated. It is thought to put you at risk of getting more genital or anal warts.

The other risk is waiting too long may up your chance of needing more drastic treatment such as surgery.

HPV WARTS CONTAGIOUS

Genital warts are very contagious. The big question is does removing warts lower a person’s chance of giving the HPV infection to a sex partner. There are many opinions, some are based on opinion, but none are definitive.

Some practitioners think that removing genital warts can lower the risk of transmission. Since the warts contain infected particles. However, the surrounding area also may contain some of the strain. The thinking is that removing warts will not eliminate the risk entirely. It may reduce the risk, but that isn’t entirely clear.

The HPV virus is the reason for the transmission in the first place. The best practice is to be diligent, and take all necessary precaution. It is not fully understood why low-risk HPV causes genital warts in some people and not others. This is likely to do with immune function.

This remedy is only going to fix the outward signs, it will not usually eliminate the cause.

Genital Warts

You can get genital warts from sexual contact with a person who is infected. There is a 60% chance of contracting HPV from just one sexual encounter with an infected person. The period of incubation is from one to six months. The warts can show up later.

GENITAL WARTS NATURAL DEFENSE

There are a few ways to remove genital warts and none of them can ensure that they will not return. Genital warts can reappear anytime, and many times return in a few months. A small percent of cases clear up on their own. For this to happen you have to wait from three to four months. This means taking a watch and wait approach is prudent if there aren’t overt signs of discomfort.

The American college of obstetricians and gynecologists (ACOG) says studies show that 20-30 percent of genital warts go away on their own, within three months. This will occur most of the time if the warts are small and fewer in number. It is estimated that 30 percent of genital warts will come back, requiring about three rounds of treatment.

Since treatment doesn’t assure that another outbreak will not take place. A healthy immune system is important. A good immune system can mount a defense, and will usually be able to fight off an HPV infection. It also enables the body to get rid of the warts on its own, or at least stop future outbreaks.

This is a long term approach that shows some the greatest opportunity and best strategy for dealing with this infection. A holistic alternative to treat both genital warts and the HPV infection is to boost the body’s immune system.

The CDC itself reports that a healthy immune system can fight off an HPV infection, clearing genital warts to boot. A healthy immune system depends on beta-carotene, vitamin C and E as well as zinc, and selenium. Folic Acid is also included on this list. Increasing your intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and getting essential fatty acids from seeds, nuts, and cold water fish will help fill your nutritional needs.