You may have heard about HPV on your televisions or even perhaps remember hearing about it in health education class, however, you may be surprised at just how many people have only heard of it yet do not know what it is. So what is HPV? This acronym stands for human papillomavirus, and it is a cause of one of the more common sexually transmitted diseases in the entire world. In fact, research has shown that the HPV is more prominent than any other sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Furthermore, a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that there are 6.2 million cases reported each year, and that around 20 million people in the United States are already infected.
But when looking at HPV you must first consider what the symptoms look like. For example, the HPV infection will put you at risk for genital warts. Genital warts are lesions that form in and around your genitals and anus. Furthermore, the same HPV can cause other types of warts to from on you hands and feet, plantar warts on your feet, as well as warts on your mouth and in your upper respiratory system.
The HPV is so common that it is estimated that 25 million people in the US alone currently have the HPV that forms warts and other lesions. And along with those lesions some HPV infections can cause other types of cancer to your genital areas. However, learning what is HPV is not the only important step. Prevention and treatment are also very important. There are many different types of treatment out there, and each will depend on the type and severity of the wart.
Treatments for HPV Infections
• Imiquimod (Aldara) cream:
This particular medicine is put on your wart and works to strengthen your immune system so that it can better fight off the infection
• Podofilox (Condylox) cream:
This medical treatment attacks the tissue of the genital wart
• Trichloroacetic acid:
This chemical is used directly on the genital wart causing it to burn off
• Cryotherapy:
This particular treatment uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart off
• Electrocautery:
In some cases your doctor will use electrical currents to burn off your warts.
• Surgical removal:
Rather than medicines or electrical currents, some doctors will use laser surgery to cut the wart off.
• Vaccination:
There has been a vaccination developed to help fight against two of the main types of the HPV to help prevent getting the virus as well as fight against cervical cancer.