HPV / Genital Warts
Genital warts can only be diagnosed if a person has symptoms, but if you think you've had sexual contact with someone with genital warts, it’s best to have a full sexual health screen. The doctor or nurse can check for warts at the same time.
Genital warts can be passed on by:
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Unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone with the HPV virus
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Skin-to-skin contact with someone who has warts
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Sharing sex toys with someone who has the HPV virus
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Occasionally from mother to baby at birth
Warts may appear as small fleshy growths or bumps which can be anywhere in the genital area.
Even if you do not have anal sex, you may still have warts around the anus. Warts can appear in different ways for different people, so if you notice any changes at all it’s important to get checked out.
What is the treatment for warts?
Warts are relatively harmless and will sometimes clear up without treatment.
We offer treatment for them mainly for cosmetic reasons (so that the warty lumps disappear). Treatment may also reduce the amount of virus in the skin. Sometimes the warts are itchy and occasionally painful.
They can be removed at home by applying a chemical solution/cream or they can be frozen off in the clinic (this may require several appointments for successful treatment).
Once someone has been infected with the wart virus (HPV), it may stay in the body for some time. Someone who’s infected with HPV may find that they only get warts when they’re run down, or some may not have warts again.
If you’ve been diagnosed with warts and are female, it’s important you stay up-to-date with smear tests (from the cervix/neck of the womb), but you don’t need more regular smear tests than any other woman.
A few less common strains of HPV have been linked to changes in the cells of the cervix that may eventually lead to cervical cancer over a long time. These strains are NOT the common ones that usually cause the visible warts and may not show signs on the outside. That’s why all sexually active women should have regular smears, regardless of ever having warts.
If you’re pregnant, warts can suddenly show up because your body’s defence system changes during pregnancy. In pregnancy, the warts can be treated with freezing. We try to avoid chemical creams so as not to harm the baby.
You can help protect yourself against HPV by using condoms every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex.
If you are unsure of how to use condoms, please ask to see a health adviser who will be happy to talk about it.
