Genital Warts
What are genital warts?
Genital warts are literally warts on the genitals. Genital warts are caused by the human papilloma virus, and they're probably the most common sexually-acquired infection.
How are genital warts contracted?
Genital warts are contracted by any form of close bodily contact. You don't actually have to have genital warts in order to be able to transmit them to other people. Condoms don't stop the spread of genital warts very effectively.
How do I know if I've got genital warts?
If you have genital warts, you'll be able to see the warts on your genitals. However, it is possible to carry the virus, be infectious to others, but not have genital warts themselves.
What are the long term effects of genital warts?
In men there are no significant long-term effects of having genital warts, other than the genital warts themselves being unsightly and can be painful or itchy. In women, however, there are certain types of human papilloma viruses that can cause changes to the cervical cells which may lead to cervical cancer.
How can I avoid genital warts?
As genital warts are transmitted through any sort of close bodily contact, it can be very hard to avoid genital warts. However, not everybody who is exposed to the human papilloma virus will develop genital warts.
How do I cure genital warts?
There are a number of different treatments for genital warts. These include destructive treatments like freezing, burning or cutting the genital warts off or there are creams available which can help increase the body's immune response to the genital wart and get rid of it that way.
