Did you know that most people never even know they have HPV because it does not always cause noticeable symptoms like warts or lesions? This is why it is so important to get checked regularly for such sexually transmitted diseases because you may have them, and pass it on to others without knowing. Furthermore, even when people do get symptoms they can vary widely. Here is a list of the more common HPV symptoms.
Genital warts
When you get genital warts you will notice that they look like flat lesions, or they may look like a little cauliflower bump, or even like a bump with a little stem. Furthermore, genital warts are nonmalignant. Instead, these HPV infections fall under types 6 and 11, and most often they are not connected to cancer.
These warts will most often be found around the woman’s vulva as well as near the anus, or even on the vagina or cervix. On the other hand, these HPV symptoms can appear on a man’s penis, scrotum, or even around his anus. However, these warts rarely cause discomfort.
Pre-malignant genital lesions
There are some HPV infections that can make changes in the cellular level that will indicate that they are cancerous. The way that these are found is through a routine pap test where your doctor collects a swab of your cervix or vagina. Furthermore, there are two grades of abnormalities they will look for.
“Low-grade” abnormalities are those that will most likely be healed with no treatment necessary, and the cells will return to normal. These are usually those classified as type 6 and 11 HPV
“High-grade” abnormalities are those that will most likely not resolve without treatment. Furthermore, some of these can cause cancer like cervical cancer. These infections fall under the category of type 16 and 18 HPV.
Oral and upper respiratory lesions
You may also find that some of the HPV symptoms can make you have these warts on your tongue or tonsils, soft palate, larynx, and even in your nose. And these can be caused by either low-grade types of HPV or even the high-grade types.
Cervical cancer and other tumors
Although you will find that most high-grade lesions will not develop cancer, there are those that last more than two years that can put you at greater risk for cancer. Furthermore, most every case of cervical cancer is caused by the HPV infection. In fact, 10,000 each year in the United States get diagnosed with cervical cancer and just over 4,000 dies each year because of it. And studies show that this is far worse in other countries where the medical treatment is not as easy to get. And lastly, it is types 16 and 18 that cause 70% of these cervical cancer cases.
Common warts
These types of warts are those that you see on other areas of your body. You can find them on your fingers, hands, legs, or even around your fingernails. They look rough and are raised from your skin. Furthermore, these types of warts can be quite painful and have a tendency to get nicked and bleed.
When it comes to the HPV infection and children you will find that although they do get these infections they may not always present with HPV symptoms like warts until they are in their 20’s.
Plantar Warts
These types of warts are very hard and grainy looking. They are nonmalignant types that will form on your heels or the balls of your feet because this is where the most pressure is put on your feet. These warts usually cause quite a bit of pain and discomfort. And while they are seen on adults they are more often found on children.
Flat Warts
A flat wart is one that has a flat top that is raised just a bit off the skin, and this is also nonmalignant. You will find that they are most often darker than your normal skin color, and they can appear on your face, hands, elbows, neck, wrists, or knees. The target age that this HPV virus most commonly afflicts is children and young adults.