Genital Warts Information - Alternative names for genital warts and human papillomavirus:
anal warts, condyloma, condylomata acuminata, HPV virus, human papillomavirus (HPV), penile warts, vaginal warts, venereal warts, verruca acuminata
Genital Warts Information - Common misspellings:
papilloma virus, papiloma, papaloma, condiloma, genitile warts, acuminate warts, gentital warts, gential warts, gental warts, human papilloma virus, veneral warts, condiloma, genitile warts, acuminate warts, gentital warts
Genital Warts Information - Information
Genital warts are small growths on the skin caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). It is rather common and accounts for about one out of ten cases of reported STDs in the U.S. There are 60 different strains of this virus, and in some cases no symptoms are present.
HPV is reported more often by men than women, probably because the symptoms are more visible. But in women, HPV can present a greater risk, especially if unnoticed, because HPV infection is associated with cancer of the cervix.
In men, the warts usually occur on the shaft of the penis, but they may also appear on the foreskin, the glans (the head of the penis), and around the anus. In women, the growths appear on the vulva, inside the vagina, on the cervix, and around the anus. In both men and women, warts may be transmitted by anal intercourse and develop in the rectum, or they can be transmitted by oral sex and develop around the mouth.
Source: About, Inc.
Genital Warts Information - Smoking Linked To Genital Wart Duration
Genital warts are more likely to linger for 6 months or more in men who are smokers compared with nonsmokers, according to a report presented here at the First International Conference on Human Papillomavirus Infections and Cervical Cancer.
In a study of 231 men being treated at the Perth STD Wart Clinic in Australia, men with visible warts were younger and nearly three times more likely to be current smokers than men without warts, reported Dr. Jenny McCloskey and colleagues at the clinic.
Regardless of the patient's age or alcohol use, patients who had warts that lingered for 6 months or longer were twice as likely to be smokers. Men who had warts for 31 months or longer were more than six times more likely to be smokers than nonsmokers. All of the men had histories of treatment difficulties or difficult to diagnose genital warts.
The study also found that 18% of men became sexually abstinent after acquiring a wart, and the abstinent period usually lasted for 10 months. For men whose warts had been present for 12 months or more, the average number of partners decreased from 7.9 during the year before diagnosis to 2.0 for the year after diagnosis. Condom use increased among men with warts from 29% prior to diagnosis to 73% after diagnosis.
Information credited to: ASH
