STD Symptoms, Human Papilloma Virus Symptoms & Human Papilloma Virus Test London

What is it

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes genital warts and is the single most important risk factor for cervical cancer in women. It can also cause vulval, anal and other types of cancer. Many types of HPV exist, but only about 30 of them can cause genital warts and are spread through sexual contact. They may be either flat or resemble raspberries or cauliflower in appearance. The warts begin as small red or pink growths and grow as large as four inches across, interfering with intercourse and childbirth. Growths may also be hidden or undetectable.

Symptoms

Bleeding, pain, itching and odour.

Other Adverse Consequences

Genital warts may enlarge during pregnancy due to hormones. If the warts become large enough, they could become an obstacle to delivery, requiring a caesarean section. In some instances, warts are passed from mother to child during childbirth, leading to a potentially life-threatening condition for newborns in which warts develop in the throat (laryngeal papillomatosis).

Persistent HPV (Genital Wart) infections are now recognized as the major cause of cervical cancer, and may play a role in some cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina, and penis. Studies have also found that oral HPV infection is a strong risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer (cancer that forms in tissues of the oropharynx, which is the middle part of the throat and includes the soft palate, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils).

Test

The Pap test looks for cell changes caused by genital HPV and cervical smear tests can be done to test for HPV.

Treatment

Gels, creams, lasers, cryotherapy or other surgery. If you don’t yet have the disease, there is a vaccination against the two types of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers (types 16 and 18), as well as the two types that cause most genital warts (6 and 11). This consists of a series of three shots over a six-month period.