Did you know that there are more than 100 varieties of human papillomavirus? The infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections to exist. But on the bright side, there are several human papillomavirus infection treatments to help you get rid of the HPV infection effectively. So keep reading to know more about everything related to human papillomavirus.
The human papillomavirus infection is nothing but a viral infection that results in growth in our skin or mucous membranes. Some varieties of the virus result in warts and can also lead to cancer. However, most varieties of the HPV virus are non-cancerous. The HPV infection spreads via skin-to-skin contact or sexual intercourse.
Various treatments like vaccines can help fight the viral infection caused by human papillomavirus. Through this blog, we want to give our readers an understanding of human papillomavirus infection treatments and more. So, keep reading! We will cover topics like -
- Meaning of the human papillomavirus infection
- The main causes leading to HPV infection
- Symptoms of human papillomavirus infection
- Effective human papillomavirus infection treatments
So, let us start with the meaning of HPV, aka human papillomavirus infection.
What is Human Papillomavirus Infection?
Before we get into the human papillomavirus infection treatments, we should first understand what human papillomavirus is. In short, human papillomavirus is a virus that affects different parts of our body. There are more than 100 strains of this virus that can cause warts in your hands, face, genitals, feet, and more.
Thirty types of human papillomavirus can affect our genital area, including the vulva, vagina, penis, and scrotum. When the virus affects our genitals, they are usually caused due to sexual transmission and skin-to-skin contact. Most of the human papillomavirus infections on the genitals are harmless.
Some viral types, nevertheless, have also been linked to cervical and other malignancies. Early detection and human papillomavirus infection treatments can, therefore, stop this from happening. Let's examine the primary reasons for HPV infections in light of this.
What are the Main Causes of Human Papillomavirus Infection?
Several causes can lead to a person getting human papillomavirus infection. Identifying these causes and proceeding with timely human papillomavirus infection treatments can help us avoid infection in the future. So, let's have a look at what causes HPV:
1. Viral Transmission
This is the most common form of transmission that involves direct skin-to-skin contact with an infected person. It also involves sexual transmission as a mode of spreading the infection.
2. Multiple Sexual Partners
When you have many sexual partners, your risk of getting the HPV infection increases because you have higher chances of getting in contact with someone who is carrying the virus—Also, sexual intercourse in general, whether penetrative or not, can result in spreading the infection.
3. Genital Contact
The human papillomavirus infection can also spread through genital-to-genital contact, even without any penetration. Thus, the chances of catching the virus are higher in sexually active people.
4. Lack of Condom Use
If you use condoms consistently and correctly, you can reduce the risk of spreading the human papillomavirus infection. However, the infection could still occur in areas not covered by condoms. The infection can also spread through oral sex and can affect the mouth, throat, and so on.
5. Non-Sexual Transmission
Though the most common way of transmitting the HPV virus is through sexual contact, the virus can also spread through personal use items like towels or razors. On rare occasions, mothers with genital warts can transmit the virus to their newborns during childbirth, too.
6. Weak Immune System
When individuals have weak immunity systems, or if have ailments like HIV-AIDS, they are at a higher risk of developing the virus. Additionally, poor hygiene and certain environmental factors can also increase the risk of transmission of the infection.
7. Genetic and Behavioural Factors
Some people have certain genetic traits that make them more susceptible to contracting the HPV infection. Certain behavioral patterns can also result in you getting the infection, such as engaging in high-risk sexual practices.
What are the Symptoms of Human Papillomavirus Infection?
The virus can manifest itself in different forms, but sometimes, HPV viruses might not show noticeable symptoms. Your symptoms also depend upon the kind of HPV infection you have. Once you detect the symptoms, getting the right human papillomavirus infection treatments becomes easier for you. Here are some symptoms of the human papillomavirus infection:
- One of the most common visible symptoms of the HPV infection is genital warts. These warts appear like small flesh-colored clusters on the genital and anal areas and could be itchy or painful for the person.
- There can also be a growth of HPV in our respiratory tract, and it can show symptoms like cough, a hoarse voice, or difficulty in breathing.
- There are certain HPV infections that you could develop in your mouth, throat, or tongue. Such infections can be white or flesh-colored and cause difficulty in swallowing.
- High-risk HPV infections in women can lead to changes in the cervical cells, and if HPV treatment for women isn't received on time, then it could result in cervical cancer in the long run.
- Persistent sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, and ear pain can also be symptoms of oral cancer, which develops through HPV infections.
- If you see changes in the skin of the penis or ulcers on them, then human papillomavirus infection could indicate a risk of penile cancer.
- In high-risk HPV infections, the risk of vulvar or vaginal cancer also increases to a great extent. The symptoms may include bleeding, pain, or itching in the vagina.
List of Some Effective Human Papillomavirus Infection Treatments
Human papillomavirus infection affects both men and women. At times, such infections settle on their own, while others can lead to serious health conditions. As a result, effective human papillomavirus infection treatments for women and men reduce the risk of any further complications. These include human papillomavirus infection surgery, human papillomavirus infection medication, and so on. So, let's have a look at some of the effective treatments:
1. Monitoring
When the HPV infection is low-risk and non-cancerous, your doctor might ask you to wait and not engage in any surgical human papillomavirus infection treatments. The doctors generally monitor the condition of the person over time to check if the infection clears over time on its own. They allow your immune system to work for itself rather than giving human papillomavirus infection medication. Most of the time, the virus successfully eliminates itself from your body.
2. Topical Treatments
One of the most common HPV-related conditions is genital warts, which you can treat with various topical human papillomavirus infection treatments. These include topical treatments like
- Imiquimod cream boosts the immune system's response to the HPV virus and helps clear the warts in your body. It's an effective human papillomavirus infection medication that the patient can apply themselves, too.
- Your healthcare provider might suggest using solutions like podofilox for HPV virus treatment. You can directly apply the solution to the warts, which causes them to break down and disappear.
- The use of Trichloroacetic acid for human papillomavirus infection treatments works best when applied directly to the warts, thus causing their destruction.
- Cryotherapy is also a form of HPV infection medical procedure wherein your doctor freezes your warts using liquid nitrogen, which causes them to slough off eventually.
- In electrocautery, your doctor will use an electric current to burn off your warts.
- Laser therapy is another HPV infection medical procedure that doctors resort to if no other methods are effective on a person.
3. Surgery
When topical human papillomavirus infection treatments aren't working, or there are precancerous changes in your body, then the doctor's last resort shall be to do a human papillomavirus infection surgery to prevent further spreading of the disease. Here are two forms of surgery that doctors might suggest:
- Excision: In this type of human papillomavirus infection surgery, the doctors remove warts using different techniques like laser surgery, loop, electrosurgical excision, or cold knife conization.
- In some cases, doctors use cryotherapy for human papillomavirus infection treatments and removing warts because this form of surgery can help reduce pain and boost recovery.
4. Treatment for Precancerous Conditions
The human papillomavirus infection treatments for women and men are different if doctors diagnose a precancerous condition. This is because certain HPV infections can lead to complications in the cervix or genital tract, too. Here is what the doctor would do:
- Doctors may do regular pap smear tests to detect any abnormal changes in your body due to the infection. They shall do further diagnostic tests if any abnormalities are found.
- As a part of human papillomavirus infection treatments, your doctor might perform a colposcopy which helps them examine your cervix, vulva, or vagina closely using a magnifying object.
- They might also take a tissue sample in the form of a biopsy to detect if the cells in your body are precancerous or not.
- Once doctors confirm the precancerous changes in your body, they perform surgical human papillomavirus infection treatments called loop electrosurgical procedures to remove the abnormal tissues.
5. HPV-Related Cancer
If HPV infections show signs of cancer, then doctors provide HPV virus treatment to combat the cancer. Some options that doctors use include human papillomavirus infection surgery that is combined with other human papillomavirus infection treatments. They also use powerful drugs in chemotherapy to stunt the growth of the cancer cells. Another treatment that doctors use on patients is immunotherapy, where the body's immune system is boosted to fight cancer cells.
6. Vaccinations
Vaccines are really useful when it comes to human papillomavirus infection treatments because they are designed to fight against high-risk infections. Vaccines like Cervarix and Gardasil are particularly effective against HPV-related cancers. Doctors govern the vaccine doses in several sittings over a specified period of time. Also, this form of HPV treatment is equally effective for men & women. If you take these vaccines before engaging in sexual activity, then they are much more effective, but they still work even if taken after.
How Do You Recover HPV Faster?
If you want to know how to get rid of HPV faster, you should know that the virus takes its own sweet time to clear out. But there are certain tips and tricks that can help in aiding the recovery process for you, such as:
- Have a healthy and well-balanced diet that boosts your immunity. You should have a healthy lifestyle and also have an effective workout or fitness routine in place.
- There should be more awareness about safe sex. You should ensure that you're following safe sex practices so that the risk of transmitting HPV to and from your partner decreases.
- In case you start showing symptoms of cervical cancer, you must get a diagnosis done for you at the earliest. Timely detection of cancer can always save a life.
- There must be nutritional supplements in your diet, which include minerals and vitamins that can boost your immunity further.
- You should consider quitting drinking because alcohol addiction can damage your immune system's ability to fight the HPV.
- People who engage in smoking are more susceptible to getting the virus because it worsens their immune system. You should consider slowing down if you are a chain smoker.
- Practice patience because HPV infections usually clear out in their own time, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle will further support it.
- Always consider getting advice from a medical professional because they will help customize a setup that suits your specific needs and build a human papillomavirus infection medication and treatment plan that works best for you.
Conclusion
There are extensive ways in which human papillomavirus infection can be treated effectively. Each of the human papillomavirus infection treatments that we discussed in this blog can successfully treat HPV infections. Hence, if you can see symptoms of HPV-related infections in you or someone you know, feel free to seek medical aid for your quick recovery.
To learn more about women's empowerment, health, lifestyle, and so on, don't forget to read other The Voice of Woman blogs.
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