Genital Warts: Causes, Transmission, Symptoms

Genital Warts is a common Sexually Transmitted Infection. To not contract any sexually transmitted disease is always one of the prayers of most persons after sexual intercourse, especially when the person involved has multiple sex partners.

Imagine that two months after your last sexual intercourse, you woke up one morning and had the feelings of pain and discomforting itch around your private part and anus and you are wondering what must be going on in there. As the severity of the pain increased, you decided to check and know what must be causing the pain because you had a nice night without intercourse or even masturbation. As you unzipped your cloth and pulled down that inner-wear, lol and behold, all you saw were fleshy bumps around your private part.

Now you are wondering where this came from as you always have clean inner wears and it has been long since you had the last sex. And this shock and quest for answers has led you to this platform.

If this is your case, worry not as we will consider one of the likely causes and give you full medical explanation and ways forward.

In this write up, below are the 6 major points to note:

 

  • Genital warts can cause pain, itching and feeling of discomfort within the private part/ and anus.
  • Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) which can majorly be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
  • The virus that causes Genital warts, despite being more commonly seen on the anus and genital area can also be seen on the hands and other parts of the body.
  • The warts affect both women and men, but women due to the nature of their genital area, are more prone to complications from the disease.
  • The warts can be treated, but the virus that causes the infection (HPV) cannot be cured.
  • Genital warts caused by HPV can be prevented through the use of vaccines.

 

What are genital warts?

Genital warts, otherwise known as condyloma acuminatum, are soft, fleshy growths that appear on or/and within the private part. They can cause pain, discomfort, and itching. The warts could be just mild, appearing on the thighs or severe enough to for a giant mass covering the entire genital area.

 

Genital Warts
Genital warts is a form of Sexually Transmitted Infection. Image Credits: Clarewell Clinics

 

Causes of Genital warts

This sexually transmitted infection (STI) is caused by infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Generally, HPV is a leading cause of STIs making men and women who are still sexually active to be vulnerable to its complications. One of those complications is genital warts.

Fortunately, genital wart is caused by a low-strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). A higher and more aggressive strain of the virus can cause Cervical cancer in women. Cervical cancer is a very terrible and painful medical condition, but it can be preventable and completely treatable if it is caught in the early stages. Read more about Cervical cancer here.

 

Transmission/Spread of Genital Warts

The HPV is highly transmittable through skin-to-skin contact during sexual intercourse, which is why it’s considered an STI. The virus that causes genital warts can be transmitted through a wide range of sexual activities which include; oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

You should note that, unlike in that of HIV or other STDs, the virus that causes genital warts may not be completely prevented by the use of condoms, as scrotal contact with the labia (which is not covered by the condom), can also lead to transmission of the virus.

 

What are the symptoms of genital warts?

Not everyone who contracts the virus may show the symptoms or the fleshy outgrowth within their private part. Some others may spend up to weeks or months before showing up. However, during this time, they are still very infectious. When the symptoms do appear, asides the warts (fleshy, bumpy growths, which may occur as a cluster of warts, or just one wart), they include:

In ladies, even if you can’t see genital warts, they may still cause symptoms, such as:

 

If genital warts spread or become enlarged, the condition can be uncomfortable or even painful.

See also:

 

Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I would do my best to answer you as soon as I can.

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