1. Can HPV Infection Cause Genital Warts?
Genital warts indicate the fact that a Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is present in your body and that you immediately need a genital warts treatment. Certain types of HPV can affect the skin in the genital area. According to many gynecologists, genital warts indicate one of the most common sexually transmitted infections.
As the name clearly specifies it, genital warts mainly occur on the moist and soft tissue of the genital areas. They can appear as abnormal skin-colored growths or bumps, some of them being red, pink or grey or under the shape of a cauliflower. They can be visible or not, small or big, and they do not cause soreness or itching, but emotional discomfort in the case of some patients.
2. How Can You Get Infected?
Many people get infected and do not even know it, but continue to transmit the virus to their partner/s through direct skin-to-skin contact or through intercourse. As condoms do not cover the entire infected area, they do not offer 100% protection against HPV infection. Other ways of contracting the virus are: infected underclothes or bathing costumes, unsterilized surgical instruments or bed clothes. Once infected, it takes 3–6 months until the first visible warts appear.
3. What Type of Treatment Should You Follow?
After the visual inspection and diagnosis, your physician will decide on the treatment scheme you should follow. The easiest genital warts treatment consists of an ointment, burning or freezing solution applied to the affected area. There is also the surgical intervention consisting in cutting, burning or freezing the warts in a dermatology clinic. When all the aforementioned methods fail, there is laser therapy, which is quite expensive but solves the problem.
After a successful genital warts treatment you should maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay informed in order to keep the HPV infection under control, as it is not treatable and, if your immune system is weakened, the warts can reappear.