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What is HPV Virus, How is it Treated?

What is HPV Virus, How is it Treated?

What is Hpv Virus?

HPV, also known as Humon papillomavirus, is a DNA virus that enters and settles inside the nerves. Does Hpv Cause Han gi Disease? It mainly causes wart disease.

I will give you a very surprising information. The Hpv Virus is present in 80 out of 100 people around the world. Isn't that a very scary high rate? I am sure you have read this here maybe for the first time. HPv infection is quite fat. All over the world, 80% of the number of people are either carriers or patients.

It causes warts anywhere on our body, on the hands, feet, trunk and genitals. There are more than 200 variants of this virus that have been identified so far. The type that causes disease in the genital area is different from the type that causes disease in other areas.

Is the HPV virus different in women than in men?

In women, the HPV virus settles in the mucous membranes in the genital area. It causes a number of negative cellular disruptions, especially in the cervix, the cervix. The HPV types that we call highly oncogenic, i.e. cause cancer, are type 16 and type 18, which are the most common and most dangerous. In addition, type 31, type 33, type 35, type 51 are other high-risk types.

Sometimes they do not infect the mucous membranes but the skin, causing warts on skin surfaces. These are low oncogenic types. This means they are very unlikely to cause cancer. It is almost impossible. The most common of these are HPV type 6 and HPV type 11. HPV causes more genital warts in men. Oncogenic types rarely cause disease.

As gynecologists, we perform a more careful examination in a female patient because HPV virus causes cervical cancer. We carefully explain follow-up, treatment and biopsy to our patients. We recommend careful follow-up. If you or someone close to you is reading these lines, it cannot be neglected.

We all know that smokers are very likely to get lung cancer. This rate is approximately 80%. We now know that HPV causes cervical cancer 100% of the time. And it is now possible to know for sure that this virus does this and prevent it! I will explain how in the following pages.

It is possible to protect our women from cervical cancer, which is in the first place in cancer-related deaths, by gaining immunity to this virus, which is the only cause of cervical cancer!

Does Wart Cause Cancer?

We hear this question frequently. In fact, it is the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer. It also causes warts. However, we cannot conclude from this that "if genital wart is also an HPV virus, then it can cause cancer". Some types of HPV cause cervical cancer, while others cause genital warts. Warts, in other words condyloma, is not a dangerous disease as it is thought and we can be treated.

How can you get infected with Hpv?

Men are contagious if they have wart lesions on the skin in the genital area. But if there are no warts, even if he carries the disease, his infectiousness decreases. The virus is sexually transmitted. After sexual intercourse with a man or woman who carries the virus, the virus can be transmitted to a person who is not infected.

I said it is sexually transmitted, but there is a situation I need to explain here. People do not necessarily have to have sexual intercourse. It can be transmitted by contact, touch or friction, that is, by rubbing the genital areas against each other. Penis-vagina intercourse is not necessary. After transmission, it can cause disease in the person or the person can remain as a carrier.

Although we say that the virus is transmitted by sexual contact, it can be transmitted in some other contacts. These can be transmitted after the common use of hygienic products and clothes that should be personalized, such as towels, bathrobes, loincloths, underwear, etc. In addition, if there is insufficient hygiene in common areas, such as toilets and even shaking hands with the virus carrier who does not wash their hands after the toilet can cause contamination. Apart from this, transmission can also occur from areas such as baths, pools, saunas, sun loungers, sun lounger cushions, etc.

How Do You Know If You Have Hpv? What Are the Symptoms?

In fact, it is very easy to diagnose because the warts on the skin surface are clearly visible. Sometimes it can be confused with moles. In men, it can spread in the groin area, on the penis, ovaries and around the anus, sometimes even inside the legs and towards the buttocks.

In women, it can also be seen in the groin area, outer lips, inner lips, venus hill (mons pubis),inside the vagina, around the anus, on the inner sides of the legs and buttocks. Sometimes they look like cauliflower or slightly raised flesh moles, sometimes a little darker than skin color. Those located in the cervix cause some redness, increased vascularization and cervical sores. Even if you are a woman and do not have any symptoms, this does not mean that you do not have HPV.

If you are wondering if you have HPV, contact your doctor. To investigate the presence of HPV virus, HPV test can be performed by taking a swab from the cervix like a smear. This can be done easily during an examination with a sample taken from the cervix.

Can the transmission of the Hpv virus be prevented? Is it Possible to Protect?

If you are a woman or a man, the first method to prevent transmission is to be monogamous. Unfortunately, life circumstances can sometimes bring separation, divorce or wrong decisions. Then it is more rational to talk about protection.

Vaccinating both our boys and girls when they enter puberty will be one of the greatest favors they will do. If you have children between the ages of 9-14, you can have two doses of vaccine 6 months apart. Unfortunately, the vaccine is not covered by the state. You can buy it privately from the pharmacy and have it done in a health institution.

Hpv virus Treatment, Wart Treatment, Cervical Cancer Treatment

The treatment of HPV in women varies according to the shape, size, location and number of lesions. If warts are present, some treatments can be applied to remove them.

Chemical (Cytotoxic) Methods

Chemical substances are used in treatment to remove warts from the skin. They are acidic substances. It is used drop by drop on the wart and periodically used to remove the wart. However, these chemicals are very effective and can cause skin irritation. Using under the control of a physician minimizes the damage.

  • Trichloracetic acid
  • When trichloroacetic acid, an acid-based solution, is applied on the warts, its abrasive properties peel off the wart and the top layer of the skin. Patients can apply it at home on their own. However, it should be applied with the prescription advice of the physician. Treatment continues for 40 days, ie 6 weeks. It is applied on 1 wart per week.
  • Podophyllin
  • Podophyllotoxin (podophyllox).

Physical Treatment Methods

Freezing (Criotherapy): In this method, warts are tried to be destroyed by freezing. This treatment is also called freezing or cold treatment. It is a very successful treatment if the warts are small. We do not need anesthesia because it is a painless treatment.

Laser Wart Treatment

We usually prefer it to remove large warts. It is a highly effective treatment. Warts are destroyed by laser beams. Since it is a painful treatment, we apply local anesthesia beforehand.

Laser treatment is appropriate when other procedures cannot be performed due to the large size of the warts. Or laser wart treatment can be applied if the warts are numerous and recur frequently despite other procedures. The procedure may leave a vague scar. Since it is an expensive treatment, we prefer laser wart treatment more when other methods fail.

What is Wart Burning Treatment? Incineration (Electrocoagulation)

Electrocauterization (Wart Burning): It is one of the common treatment methods. Warts are removed using electric current. Since it is a painful procedure, we apply local anesthesia beforehand. Some scarring may remain on the skin after the procedure.

Removal of the wart by cutting: By applying local anesthesia, the area where the wart is located is cut from the base and the remaining tissue is sutured. It is also called surgical excision.

Other methods in wart treatment

  • Interferon Therapy: It is a method we do not prefer very much. It has many side effects and despite this, it is both expensive and not more beneficial than other methods. It is applied by injecting medicine into the wart.
  • Cidofovir,
  • Vaccination

After researching all treatment methods, patients should consult a doctor and decide which method is appropriate together with the doctor.

Can it recur after treatment?

Unfortunately, it can recur, more often when immunity drops. Let's say we burned or froze the wart or destroyed it with a laser, it will not grow again in the same place, but it may grow again in an indefinite period of time, perhaps days, weeks, months or even years later. Maybe it will never come out for a lifetime. Because the virus continues to live in the cell.

There is inevitably a fear in my patients who carry the HPV virus because they will be carriers for life. If your body's immune system is strong, the virus can remain inactive for life. The HPV virus is transmitted to you because the virus is active during contact transmission. In fact, the virus is not active all the time.

The more important issue for genital warts, much more important than how it is transmitted or how it should be treated, is to know how to protect yourself from the HPV virus.

In women, if there are changes such as wounds, redness and vascularization on the cervix, we can make different treatments according to these. In order to find out if you have a change in the cervix, we first take a smear test.

When we receive risky smear results, we take a biopsy from suspicious areas on the cervix with colposcopic examination (examination with a magnifying glass after staining the cervix with special dyes). We create your treatment plan according to the final result of the examination.

For the treatment of HPV in men, it is in the form of treatments aimed at eliminating warts in the body. The warts are tried to be destroyed by one of the methods I mentioned above, that is, by chemically burning with acids, burning with electric current, freezing, laser.

Sometimes they are treated with creams or solutions. None of the treatments I have mentioned can completely remove the virus from your body. However, as the warts disappear, if you are a man, you will no longer be contagious. If your immune system is in good condition, the warts will not recur for life.

What is genital warts also known as "condyloma"?

The HPV virus (human papillomavirus) has over 200 types. It is more likely to infect a person if there is a lesion on the skin where it is transmitted. It can cause warts to form in every part of the body, more in the infected area.

When it is sexually transmitted, it is called genital warts. Genital warts are called condylomas, which is a different name than warts on other parts of the body. In essence, they are all warts. These genital warts, also known as condylomas, can appear in the vagina, penis, vulva, anus, ovaries or groin. Condulomas can sometimes be transmitted outside of sexual contact.

Can genital warts cause cancer?

In fact, dear readers of these pages, it is not genital warts that cause cervical cancer, but the oncogenic types of the HPV virus. From this point of view, "genital warts are also an HPV virus. Then it causes cervical cancer. It cannot be said.

While some types of HPV viruses cause cervical cancer (cervical cancer),some types cause condyloma, that is, genital warts and normal warts on the hands and feet. Condylomas are not a dangerous disease like cancer, so don't be afraid and they can be treated with a variety of methods in modern medicine. However, once the HPV virus has entered your body, let's give it a break because it stays in your body for life.

If your immune system is strong, it keeps the virus under control. It will never cause warts again.

Update Date: 15.08.2022
Op. Dr. Âzer Aras Uluğ
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Op. Dr. Azer Aras Uluğ
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