What are the symptoms of genital warts?

Overview

One of the most prevalent types of sexually transmitted illnesses is genital warts. At some point in their lives, almost everyone who engages in sexual activity will contract at least one kind of genital wart-causing human papillomavirus (HPV).

The moist tissues of the vaginal region are affected by genital warts. They can have a cauliflower-like appearance or be little, flesh-colored lumps. While some genital HPV strains can lead to cancer, others can result in genital warts. Vaccination can aid in preventing some genital HPV strains.

Symptoms

Genital warts can appear on the vulva, the vaginal walls, the area between the external genitals and the anus, the anal canal, and the cervix in females. Men’s scrotums, anuses, and the tip or shaft of the penis can all develop them.

Everyone who has engaged in oral sex with an infected person has the chance of getting throat- or mouth-based genital warts.

Genital wart symptoms and indicators include:

• In your vaginal region, there are tiny flesh-colored, brown, or pink swellings.
• Inconvenience or itching in the genital area
• Bleeding when having sex

 

Warts on the genitalia can be so tiny and flat that they are unnoticeable. Nonetheless, genital warts can sporadically grow into sizable clusters in people with weakened immune systems.

Causes

Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 40 different HPV strains that can harm the genital region.

Sexual contact is usually always how genital warts are spread. You can infect your sexual partner even if your warts aren’t readily apparent.

Risk elements

You may be more susceptible to contracting an infection if:

• Having many partners while unprotected
• Having experienced another STD
• Engaging in sexual activity with a person whose sexual past you are unaware of
• Having a sex life while you’re young
• A weakened immune system brought on by conditions like HIV or medications taken after an organ transplant

Complications

consequences from an HPV infection include:

Cancer: Genital HPV infection has been closely associated with cervical cancer. Moreover, certain HPV strains have been linked to malignancies of the vulva, anus, penis, mouth, and throat.

Although HPV infection may not always result in cancer, it is nevertheless necessary for women to obtain routine Pap exams, especially if they have had higher-risk HPV infections.

Problems during pregnancy:

Rarely, warts can increase during pregnancy and make it challenging to urinate. The stretching of the vaginal tissues during childbirth may be inhibited by warts on the vaginal wall. Stretching during labor might cause large warts on the vulva or in the vagina to bleed.

Very seldom, a baby born to a woman who has genital warts also gets throat warts. To prevent the airway from becoming clogged, the infant may require surgery.

Prevention

Genital warts can be avoided by limiting the number of sexual partners you have and being vaccinated. Although it’s a good idea, using a condom each time you have sex won’t guarantee that you won’t develop genital warts.

Vaccination

Although it can be given as early as age 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend routine HPV vaccination for girls and boys aged 11 and 12.

The vaccination should be given to both boys and females prior to any sexual activity.

The vaccines’ side effects, which can include discomfort at the injection site, headaches, a low-grade fever, or flu-like symptoms, are often minor.

Instead of the previously recommended three-dose regimen, the CDC now advises that all 11 and 12-year-olds receive two doses of the HPV vaccine, spaced at least six months apart. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 14 and younger adolescents between the ages of 9 and 10 can also get immunized using the revised two-dose regimen.

Teenagers and young adults who start the vaccination series later, between the ages of 15 and 26, should continue to receive three doses.

For all individuals up to the age of 26 who have not received enough HPV vaccinations, the CDC now advises catching up on immunizations.