Another name for genital warts is venereal warts. They are transmitted through sexual contacts. The condition may be spread through vaginal, oral and anal sexual contact with the person who is infected. It is possible that a child may get infected from his mother during birth. Nevertheless it happens rarely.
There are some kinds of HPV (the human papillomavirus) that causes genital warts. There are also other kinds of HPV, which usually cause warts on the feet and on the hands.
Genital warts are among the most frequent diseases that are transmitted through sexual contacts.
The most common symptoms of warts are as follows. First of all, it is bumps and growths that appear around and in the anus, cervix and vagina in women and on the groin, penis, thigh and scrotum with men. While compiling genital warts description it is necessary to mention that the warts may be different: flat or raised, multiple or single, large or small.
It is worthy of note that sometimes it takes several months and years for warts to appear. Sometimes they do not appear at all. Traditionally, the incubation period lasts for about 1-6 months. It happens that genital warts are so little that they are not noticed at once.
With women genital warts can develop in the cervix and vagina. The warts there are usually flat and rather invisible. They may be the cause of cancer. That is why genital warts treatment is of paramount importance. Men with HPV may also have cancer of the penis or of the anus.
Nevertheless, not all types of genital warts can cause cancer. It is only 15 species of 30 are able to lead to cancer.
The easiest way of prevention from genital warts is to avoid sex with infected people. Condoms can provide some protection from genital warts though the protection is not complete as the warts may be situated in the place, which is not covered by a condom. As for spermicidal creams, foams and jellies, they do not protect from genital warts and HPV.
The majority of warts need two and sometimes even more courses of genital warts treatment. Nevertheless there is no remedy for the HPV infection as the treatment is only able to remove the warts.
Different therapies are used for removing genital warts. The most effective are the following. It is possible to put medications directly on the wart. It is possible to freeze genital warts with the help of liquid nitrogen, which is called cryosurgery. And of course laser treatment is one of the most efficient therapies.
HPV is an infection that stays dormant. Warts can appear again at any moment after the course of the treatment. If a person at least once has had warts s/he should remember that s/he is infected and can transmit the infection to others. The infection is especially dangerous for women because the infection can affect cervix and vagina causing more serious conditions.
The virus of HPV may stay dormant in the organism before warts appear. It is quite possible that the infection is going to stay in the organism for the whole life. Nevertheless, there are cases when the immune system fights the virus and makes it leave forever.