Internal genital warts are caused by the Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) when this microscopic virus
infects the skin. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease
and like many other STDs, HPV often does not have
any signs and symptoms that you are able to see or
feel. Many people (both men and women) are not aware
that they are carrying the virus because there are
no symptoms. However, even when internal genital warts
do occur, they are not visible and therefore the first
indication of internal genital warts symptoms may
be a painful or itchy feeling in that area particularly
during sexual intercourse.
Internal
genital warts symptoms can occur as follows:
o On the inside of the vagina
o On the opening (the cervix) to the womb (the uterus)
o On the area inside the anus
o Inside the mouth or the throat following oral sexual
contact with an infected person.
If you think you are infected or suspect that you
have internal genital warts, then you should seek
immediate medical advice.
The genital HPV virus can be classified as either
low risk or high risk. While the low risk HPV can
cause the genital warts, the high risk HPV can lead
to cancers of the cervix, vagina and anus in women.
HPV rarely causes serious health problems in men,
with the exception of anal cancer in men who have
sex with men.
Both high risk and low risk types of genital HPV
can cause changes or growths on the tissue of a woman’s
cervix and these growths are usually flat and invisible.
Regular Pap smear tests in women will pick up such
changes so that genital warts treatment can be commenced.
Internal genital warts treatment
Unfortunately, the HPV itself cannot be treated,
and there is technically speaking no genital
warts cure. But even though internal genital warts
are very difficult to access, there are internal genital
warts treatments available:
o Cryotherapy involves putting very cold liquid nitrogen,
nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide directly onto the
warts. This freezes
the genital wart tissue
and destroys it. This is particularly useful for treating
vaginal, cervical and anal internal warts. The procedure
generally takes 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the
number and size of the warts. It can be painful, both
during and after the procedure, so you may want to
ask your doctor about a local anesthetic to ease the
pain. When you have this internal genital warts treatment,
you may notice a discharge for a few weeks after treatment.
This is a sign that your body is healing. Avoid using
tampons or having penetrative sex for two to four
weeks or until the discharge has stopped. Recurrence
rates for internal genital warts after cryotherapy
range from 10% to 40%.
o Laser treatment is another good internal genital
warts treatment as it is very precise and can be used
to treat those internal genital warts in difficult
to reach places. Laser treatment also has a low risk
of damage to surrounding tissue. The warts are vaporized.
During the procedure, smoke created from the vaporizing
tissue is extracted by a machine. This can be quite
loud and may be alarming if you have not been warned
beforehand. The recurrence rates for internal genital
warts after laser treatment also ranges from between
10% to 40%,
Some people are more naturally resistant to the HPV
viruses and don’t seem to get warts as easily
as others. The big problem is that genital warts are
very contagious and can be passed from one person
to another during oral, vaginal or anal sex and even
just by skin to skin contact when there are warts
present. It is important to treat those internal
genital warts as soon as possible for your health
sake.
Go
to our Genital Warts Treatment page
