Genital Warts

               Genital Warts ( venereal warts, anal warts and anogenital warts) are symptoms of a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by some types of human papillomavirus (HPV). It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, usually during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. Warts are the most easily recognized symptom of genital HPV infection. Although some types of HPV are known to cause cervical cancer and anal cancers, these are not the same types of HPV that cause genital warts.

Signs and Symptoms
- The warts are soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored bumps.
- They can also occur on internal surfaces like the opening to the urethra, inside the vagina, on the cervix, or in the anus.
- In males they are frequently found on or around the head of the penis.
- They can be as small as 1-5mm in diameter, but can also grow or spread into large masses in the genital or anal area.
- Sometimes warts may cause itching, redness, or discomfort, especially when they occur around the anus.

Diagnosis
- The diagnosis of genital warts is most often made visually, but may require confirmation by biopsy in some cases.
- DNA tests
- Acetic acid solution to identify smaller warts ("subclinical lesions"), but this practice is controversial.

Treatment
1. There is no cure for HPV
2. Treatments are focused on the removal of visible warts, but these may also regress on their own without any therapy.
3. As many as 80% of people with HPV will clear the infection within 18 months.
4. Simple excision, such as with scissors under local anesthesia, is highly effective.
5. Electrocauterization (sometimes called "loop electrical excision procedure" or LEEP) is procedure with a longer history of use, and is considered effective.
6. Topical agents : 0.15% – 0.5% podophyllotoxin, Imiquimod, Trichloroacetic acid.

Prevention
- Vaccine against human papillomavirus types 16, 18, 6, and 11.