There are a lot of people that have had to deal with genital warts. For most of those people, the warts are only a bother. They are usually treated with some medicine and then forgotten about. It depends on the seriousness of the problem and it is not something that anyone wants to brag about.

If women have genital warts on the cervix, they can be a problem, it can cause women to have an abnormal pap smear. If this is left unattended, it may cause even more problems down the road like cancer. Women should have a pelvic exam at least every six months to a year. Men and women who have warts on or inside the anus should have an exam every year.

Treating genital warts is not hard. You will get good advice and help from many of the doctors and professionals that you see. They can use a chemical on the warts to remove them. You may need to come back more than once to finish the treatment to take care of the problem. If someone has a problem with their immune system, they may find that the treatment may take longer. An example of this may be HIV. The warts may increase in size and the number of them may increase faster. This is why you need to tell your doctor if you are HIV positive.

Even after you have the genital warts removed, they may return. This is because the virus stays in your skin once you are infected. You can pass the virus to your sexual partners while having sex. This is possible even if you have warts and do not see them. It is so important to practice safe sex when you have had or do have the disease.

You should check yourself often for signs of the warts. The actual genital warts can be treated. However, you can not treat the virus. You will always have the virus in your skin that can break out at any time. You need to use condoms when you have sex. Condoms greatly reduce your risk for getting the disease or spreading it to your partners. Even though it is recommended that you use condoms, it is no guarantee that you are going to stop the problem. It is just an important method to practice every time you have sex. This will help in preventing other STD’s as well.

The main thing to do to prevent getting infected is to be careful. You should know your partners and have a good relationship with them first. You need to practice safe sex so that you do not put yourself at risk. It is important to your health and to your life. You only get once chance at being healthy and you do not want to have to deal with genital warts.

Genital warts, caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), are surprisingly common among men and women. But the reasons behind their attacks are still open to some degree of speculation. One of the beliefs associated with the condition is that in case of women, they are probably linked to pregnancy. So genital warts and pregnancy - is there a connection? Let’s investigate.

To begin with, genital warts and pregnancy is not a happy mix. Pregnant women, infected with HPV and suffering from genital warts, almost always run a high risk of transmitting this extremely contagious disease to the child. It is therefore highly advisable to treat the genital warts before the baby is delivered.

Presence of genital warts during pregnancy sometimes leads to a number of problems. The warts, during such times, often increase in size and make urinating difficult and even painful. Blame it on hormonal changes during pregnancy that cause genital warts to multiply in number, enlarge and even bleed. In such cases, it is advisable to seek the help of a health care provider who can provide relief.

An abnormal Pap test may indicate the presence of HPV. So if there has been a test recently, seek expert medical diagnosis and advice. Genital warts and pregnancy pose other risks as well. This is because the body’s immune system gets weaker during an HPV infection and this makes the lady vulnerable to viruses and infections. If the warts are inside the vaginal passage, they reduce the elasticity of the vagina and cause obstruction. This makes delivery difficult.

It is a comforting thought that pregnant women carrying an HPV infection usually do not give it to their babies. However, in some rare cases, mothers infected with genital warts may give birth to infants who develop warts in their throats, a condition also known as laryngeal papillomatosis. Although very rare, it poses a great life-threat to the newborn, requiring immediate medical attention and frequent laser surgeries to prevent blockage of the breathing passages. According to modern research, the use of interferon therapy along with laser surgery often slows down the course of the disease.

For all the (disagreeable) reasons above, it is strongly advised to abstain from sex with a partner who has HPV. The infection spreads primarily through contact. If however abstinence is difficult, be choosy about the partner and stick to the dedicated partner. This minimizes the chances of contracting the disease and safeguards the pregnant mother as well. Remember, although condoms offer a modest degree of protection against the infection, but they are not foolproof.

Pregnancy or no-pregnancy, genital warts are a nasty condition to have. Don’t do anything that might spread the infection or delay the process of cure. Do seek medical help as soon as possible. And pregnant mothers of course need to be more alert. After all, you owe it to your unborn child.