by Patricia Viratham

Created on: May 29, 2008

Human Papillomavirus

Genital human papillomavirus is the most comment sexually transmitted infection. It infects the skin and the mucous membranes. It is said to be more that 40 different types of HPV that can infect the genital areas of men and women. The parts that get infected are the penis, vulva, vagina, anus, cervix, and the rectum. You can't see the infection; and most people who develop the infection don't even know they have it.

People who have this infection usually do not develop symptoms or health problems; although certain types of HPV can cause genital warts in men and women and cervical cancer in women. HPV can cause genital wards also. HPV is both low and high risk. Developing genital warts is low risk and cervical cancer is high risk. It is said that 90% of the time the body's immune system will fight off HPV on it's own within a term of 2 years. Genital warts usually appear as small bumps or groups of bumps, which is usually in the genital area. The appearance of them ranges; they can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, or even cauliflower shaped. Wars may appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected person; or worse comes to worse, they won't appear at all. Cervical cancer does not have any symptoms until it's in the far stages, so it's important for women to get screened regularly for cervical cancer.

HPV is passed by genital contact. A person could also have HPV even if they haven't had sexual contact for years. It's very rare that a pregnant woman with HPV can pass it to her baby during vaginal delivery.

HPV causes the normal cells to become abnormal; you cannot see this unless you're pap smear comes back abnormal. And once again, the body's immune system fights off the HPV naturally and then the cells should go back to normal.

There are ways you could try and prevent getting HPV. The HPV vaccine will protect against most cervical cancers; but not all of them. It's very important for women to get cervical cancer screenings to prevent developing cervical cancer. There isn't a vaccine to prevent HPV for men yet. Meaning there is no way to tell if a man has HPV. The vaccine that protects females from most cervical cancers is recommended for girls starting out at 11 years old. Generally cesarean delivery is not recommended for women because it's not positive that it will get passed on to their babies.

There aren't any treatments to cure the virus. While there are treatments for the diseases that HPV causes. Visible genital warts can be removed by patient-applied medications or treatments that are performed by a health care provider. Cervical cancer is treatable when it's diagnosed and treated early; there isn't much to do when you're in the late stages.

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