Symptoms of the human papillomavirus are manifested in the form of genital warts, papillomas, warts and other neoplasms on the skin. The incubation period can reach several years. It is determined by the state of human immunity. Currently, about 600 strains of these microorganisms are isolated, which cause various harms to the body.
Classification of human papillomavirus
It combines 70 types of different viruses that can potentially cause various diseases. They are capable of infecting epithelial cells of the skin, mucous membranes of the genital organs and mouth.
There are various strains, including those capable of provoking the development of malignant neoplasms. That is why it is important to know the symptoms of the human papillomavirus in women and men. According to WHO, about 70% of all cases of precancerous conditions and cervical cancer are caused by two types of HPV: 16 and 18.malignant tumors of the penis. Both sexes can get cancer in the rectum.
All viruses, depending on oncogenicity, are divided into the following types:
- low risk - 53-55, 42-44, 11, 6;
- with medium activity - 66, 58, 52, 51, 39, 35, 30-33;
- high risk - 56, 45, 18, 16.
1-4 types contribute to the appearance of plantar warts and are safe in terms of oncology.
49, 28, 10 types provoke the development of flat warts.
18 and 16 types are considered the most dangerous, because they contribute to the development of cancer cells and provoke the appearance of papillomas and genital warts on the genitals. But even the presence of these types of virus in the body is not a sentence. According to statistics, only 1% of women with this type of virus develop uterine cancer.
Routes of infection
There are different ways of infection entering the human body:
- self-infection when epilating or shaving;
- in a newborn baby, symptoms of the human papillomavirus appear when infected from the mother - papillomatosis or genital warts may form;
- anal or oral sex leads to infection with genital warts;
- contact-household way when using common areas: swimming pools, fitness equipment, toilets, baths, showers - here the virus persists for a long time and enters the body through the skin.
Carriers of the infection, according to WHO, are about 70% of the world's population. The virus is easily transmitted from oneperson to another.
Risk groups
Of course, no one is immune from disease. However, any disease develops faster when certain favorable conditions are present for it. In the case of HPV it is:
- early onset of sexual activity;
- weakened immunity after illness;
- abortion;
- STDs and comorbidities related to STIs: trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia;
- anal sex and multiple sex partners.
Human papillomavirus symptoms
After entering the body, viruses begin their destructive work, causing a number of diseases:
- Bowen's disease. They provoke types 18 and 16, as a result, a malignant process develops in the genital area. In the last stages, metastases spread to other organs.
- Bovenoid papulosis can be caused by the same types of HPV, as well as 31 and 33. In this case, rashes appear in the genital area of people, they look like flat plaques located above the surface of the skin of white or yellowish-pink color. The disease can lead to the development of malignant neoplasms.
- Laryngeal papillomatosis occurs when a type 11 virus enters the body. Most often, a newborn from a sick mother becomes infected. Transmission during oral sex is also possible. It mainly manifests itself as difficulty swallowing and hoarseness of voice. With a large number of formed papillomas, breathing worsens.
- Epidermodysplasiawarty occurs mainly in adolescents. Eruptions appear on the body, resembling flat flesh-colored warts. It can be caused by viruses with a high oncogenic risk (48, 8, 5), which can cause skin cancer, or with a low activity (25, 20, 14).
- Condyloma acuminata - rough outgrowths on the leg. They are mainly located in the cervix, urethra, bladder, between the anus and the genitals.
- Papillomas are soft elongated neoplasms on a flesh-colored stalk. Initially concentrated in the area of the mammary glands, armpits, groin, neck, rarely - the face. Subsequently, they can spread throughout the body, increasing in size.
- Warts (senile, plantar, flat, ordinary keratomas) are benign neoplasms, sometimes resembling moles with a rough surface. The size and color is different. Their localization is different. Plantar warts caused by the type 1 virus cause discomfort during movement, they grow deep inside. If the cause of their development was HPV type 2, they coalesce in the form of a mosaic and are practically not felt. The rest of the formations are painless.
See your doctor immediately if you have symptoms of the human papillomavirus. Treatment should be comprehensive and urgent.
Development of pathology
The disease occurs in 4 stages:
- Latent. The virus is present in the body, without manifesting itself and without causing anychanges in the body.
- Appearance of clinical signs. The division of epidermal cells is accelerated. Can be detected by PCR analysis, histology and cytology.
- Dysplasia. At this stage, the carrier of hereditary information of the virus interacts with the DNA of the cell and integrates into it. Koilocytosis occurs, accompanied by a change in the structure of the cell. The virus can be diagnosed by the same methods, colposcopy is additionally practiced.
- Carcinoma. Mutations occur at the cellular level, cancer cells become active. Detected by any diagnostic methods.
A photo of the symptoms of the human papillomavirus is presented in the article.
Papillomavirus infection in women
It can be asymptomatic in a latent form, as well as in a pronounced one, causing the development of the following neoplasms and diseases:
- Cervical diseases: erosion and cancer. The latter disease develops from the superficial epithelial layer.
- Dysplasia (precancerous condition). In this case, there is a violation of cell maturation. The two initial stages of the disease in women with human papillomavirus are considered relatively safe, but the transition to the third indicates the beginning of the development of oncology. Types 16 and 18 call her.
- Development of genital warts on the genitals. They appear 3 months after the virus enters the body. They can be located on the labia minora, in the oral cavity, cervix, vaginal mucosa. The human papillomavirus in women can cause the appearance of endophytic warts, whichgrow inside the body and are not detected by visual inspection. When their pointed varieties are located on the cervix or its canal, the prognosis of the disease is considered unfavorable, since the risk of developing oncology increases.
The danger is that the symptoms of the human papillomavirus are not always clearly expressed. In gynecology, this disease is given little attention. The infection is in a "sleeping" state for a long time, and a person may not even be aware of its existence. In a woman, it can become more active during menopause.
Human papillomavirus in gynecology is most often diagnosed in women who lead an active sex life at the age of 16-30.
Neoplasms in the vagina are not felt. However, they can be injured during intercourse, resulting in the following symptoms:
- appearance of profuse vaginal discharge;
- the presence of blood in them;
- pain during intercourse;
- burning when urinating.
Therefore, it is so important to undergo an annual examination, the activation of the virus can occur at any time. Now you know how to recognize the symptoms of human papillomavirus (photo) in women.
Infecting men
The disease can be latent or overt, manifesting itself in the form of papillomas on the penis or in the anus. Genital warts are capable of degenerating into cancerous tumors.
Symptoms of the human papillomavirus inmen show up as corresponding rashes in the following areas:
- anus area;
- urethral orifice;
- scrotum;
- head and frenulum of the penis.
Also, men are characterized by papillomatosis of the larynx in a returnable form. Recently, diseases caused by this virus include malignant processes occurring in the bladder. Treatment of symptoms of the human papillomavirus in men should be carried out without fail, despite the fact that most often the stronger sex is only a carrier. HPV can cause penile cancer, and although the disease is rare, preventive examinations and treatment should be carried out if an ailment is detected at an early stage.
Thus, the representatives of the stronger sex should also undergo an annual preventive examination by a doctor, not to mention situations where men have symptoms of the human papillomavirus. In the photo you can see how different types of HPV manifest themselves.
Diagnosis
The simplest method is a visual examination of the patient. In addition, a number of tests are carried out to identify the type of pathogen. These include:
- PCR;
- tissue histology;
- cytological examination of a smear from the cervix for the detection of human papillomavirus in women;
- colposcopy.
The most informative method is PCR. The experimental technique makes it possible to detectvirus, as well as determine its type. In addition, this can be done using the Digene test.
Colposcopy is prescribed for women after a visual examination by a gynecologist of the vagina and cervix. Also, in many cases, a biopsy is performed - taking a small piece of tissue for histological examination.
To detect symptoms of the human papillomavirus in women, the cervix can be treated with acetic acid, and on top with Lugol's solution on iodine. Uneven absorption of the latter indicates the presence of the virus.
Physiotherapy treatment
Today there are no treatment regimens for the symptoms of human papillomavirus in women and men that work with a 100% guarantee. The choice of method is determined by the type of virus and the pathology it caused. Most often, antiviral drugs are prescribed, and tumors are surgically removed.
If there are pronounced symptoms of the human papillomavirus in men, treatment is carried out by physiotherapeutic methods or through surgery. The same methods are used for women.
These include:
Radiosurgery. One of the modern methods of treatment with a short rehabilitation period, high efficiency and no complications. Neoplasms are removed by exposure to high frequency radio waves. However, the method is expensive, which did not allow it to be widely used. Radiosurgical treatment of human papillomavirus - in the photo below
- Laser therapy. With its help, neoplasm tissues are burned out and blood vessels are cauterized, which eliminates the risk of secondary infections and prevents bleeding. However, the use of this method leads to an increase in the likelihood of malignancy of papillomas, that is, their degeneration into malignant formations.
- Electrocoagulation. Burning of papillomas with high-frequency electric current. After the session, a scab forms at the site of the neoplasm, which dries up and falls off after a few days, and clean skin remains under it.
- Cryodestruction. Various neoplasms are exposed to liquid nitrogen, as a result of which they are destroyed and disappear. This is a jeweler's work, because it is necessary to determine the depth of penetration of the agent and not damage the surrounding tissues. Performed only in a medical facility.
- Chemical destruction. This method is practiced at home, and care must be taken. A drop of a preparation containing aggressive substances (alkali, acid) is applied to the neoplasm, destroying the tissue of the neoplasm.
Surgical methods of treatment are currently used quite rarely, since they can lead to various complications, are characterized by a long recovery period and trauma. If they are used, then within a month after the operation it is necessary to take methionine, which will avoid the return of the disease.
Removal of the virus does not give any guarantees, a relapse in the future is not excluded. This is due to the fact that the virus remains in the humanbody, so physiotherapy methods must be supplemented with antiviral treatment.
Antivirals
They block the reproduction of the virus and help strengthen the immune system. Similar funds are released in different forms:
- injectable solutions;
- pills;
- rectal and vaginal suppositories;
- creams and ointments.
The main groups of drugs that are used to treat human papillomavirus in gynecology and other fields of medicine:
- means that suppress the process of division of affected cells: "5-fluorouracil Kondilin", "Podophyllin";
- drugs that stimulate the production of their own interferons: "Cycloferon", "Amiksin";
- interferons are drugs that have not only antitumor and immunostimulating properties, but also many side effects and contraindications, so a doctor should select them.
The most effective drugs are:
- "Papillok" - from papillomas;
- "Epigen intima" is a drug with pronounced antiviral and regenerating properties, used against highly oncogenic types of the virus;
- "Immunomax" - an immunomodulator in the form of a powder for intramuscular injection;
- "Isoprinosine" - an immunostimulant in the form of tablets;
- "Allokin-alpha" - an immunomodulator and antiviral agent, is used against oncogenic and non-oncogenic types, it is used to treat the symptoms of the virushuman papillomas in a woman in the complex therapy of diseases of the cervix;
- "Genferon" - a local immunomodulator in the form of vaginal and rectal suppositories, used in conjunction with other antiviral drugs;
- "Viferon" - has a local antiviral immunomodulatory effect, helps with concomitant sexual infections.
Vaccination
Its implementation contributes to the emergence of increased persistent immunity, providing reliable protection against the virus in question for life. It is most effective to carry out before the onset of sexual activity.
Today, two vaccines have been developed to combat the human papillomavirus. Cervarix is undergoing clinical trials. The drug "Gardasil" is allowed in most states, and in some of them (Germany, USA, France) it is included in the mandatory vaccination plan.
Vaccination is carried out in three stages. The interval between the first and second injections is 2 months, the final injection is given after another four months. Efficiency in the case of three injections is 95-100%.
Prevention
To prevent the most dangerous types from entering the body, it is necessary to conduct an explanatory conversation with adolescents about the rules of contraception and perform periodic examinations to detect the disease in the early stages. Women should visit a gynecologist annually for a comprehensive examination that will identifycervical cancer in the early stages, which can save a life.
Specialists to contact for various diseases associated with the human papillomavirus
HPV can cause different diseases, so the doctors you need to go to for help are different.
So, to remove flat warts, you need to go to a dermatologist. Plantar masses can be removed by both the previous specialist and the surgeon.
If a man has genital warts on the foreskin or head of the penis, you need to contact a urologist. If there are any in women on the labia and the entrance to the vagina, an appointment is made with a gynecologist.
If condylomas are located in the region of the rectal opening, then they turn to the proctologist.
In the absence of the above three doctors, they go to the surgeon for an appointment.
Warty epidermodysplasia involves a visit to a dermatologist or oncologist, laryngeal papillomatosis - to an ENT doctor or surgeon, bowenoid papulosis - to a urologist or venereologist.
In closing
Human papillomavirus symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways. Some types of HPV are safe for the body, others can provoke the occurrence of various oncological diseases, primarily of the organs of the genitourinary system. A person of any gender should periodically undergo examinations by appropriate specialists to identify ailments in the early stages, when they are amenable to successful treatment.
