HPV Question?

Question

So, I have a friend who has HPV high risk.....Is this the virus that causes cervical cancer? Does the high risk virus cause genital warts? She has these little skin colored bumps near the opening of her vagina, could these be genital warts? They aren't cauliflower shaped or anything, but they are flesh colored. Please help because she is freaking out!!!!

Okay, she has gone and had these paps and she is due for a coloposcopy. Her other question is how long do these warts last?

Answer 1

You say that she has high risk HPV. This would indicate that she has had an abnormal pap smear in the past and that the resulting blood test indicated that she is infected with one of the several virulent strains that are associated with potential Cervical cancer.

There are over 35 different varieties of HPV. There are several that are linked to Cervical Cancer, a few that are linked but that are very rare, and many that do not have a tendancy to develop into Cervical Cancer.

If you take a blood sample of say 1000 sexually active college students most likely 500 will show one or more strains of HPV. Some cause visible lesions (paps or warts) others do not. Further the warts or paps can grow in areas that are not normally visible. A person aged 25 now has over a 66% lifetime risk of having HPV at some time in her life. As noted, condoms help but do not totally prevent infection. Also visible warts do not need to be present to shed virii.

If she was seen by a gynocologist, and she has visible paps or warts they will be removed either with podophilin (a substance that is "painted" onto the warts," or with cryosurgery (a tiny directed stream of liquid nitrogen which freezes them, and then they simply die.

If one looks closely (and every female should, with a good light, and a mirror) at her genitalia you will become aware of what is "normal" for you. If you do this perhaps annually, you will be aware of changes, which should prompt you to seek medical advice. Indeed skin tags are common as are other benign growths. If one develops what appears are warts (slightly raised, coarser (often as you say cauliflower) disks) then indeed go see a practitioner. They are there as much to say "oh that's normal," as they are to say "uh oh...let's take care of this."

It is notable that if a woman has unprotected intercourse with many men that it is likely that the strain will remain. If she goes without intercourse, or possibly with the same male, oftentimes after several years an immunity to that strain is developed.

It is also notable that there is a very, very STRONG link with having a high risk HPV and smoking. So much so, that the cervical cancer risk of nonsmoking women with one of the virulent strains approaches that of the normal poplulation. In short if you have a virulent strain and smoke, your risk skyrockets. If your friend is a smoker it may be that the synergistic effect has resulted in abnormal pre-cancerous changes in the surface tissue of her cervix.

If she is to have colposcopy this means that the cervix shows abnormal (mutated-or dysplasic) surficial cells. Removing these cells with cryosurgery prevents their mutating into cancer. Oftentimes these dysplasic cells are considered "pre-cancerous" meaning that left untreated they have a high risk of mutating into cancer. Depending on findings she may have to go back to the gynocologist twice a year, or every year to make sure cellular changes are not occurring. If she develops natural immunity over time, the results of the pap smear will be negative and then she'll not have to go back as often. It is essential though that she continues to see the practitioner to make sure that the benign changes do not turn into a malignency.

If you have younger sisters, or daughters that are not sexually active I highly recommend that these people get vaccinated, using the newly developed vaccine. These are almost 100% effective in preventing the virulent forms, but useless for that strain once the infection has occurred.

I hope that this has helped.

Answer 2

High Risk HPV is very, very serious. There are about 100 different strains of the HPV Virus, and about 4 of them are very deadly and cause Cervical Cancer. Your friend is infected with the High Risk "Cancere Causing" Strain.

And the strains that cause Genital Warts dont always cause Cancer---but that doesnt matter because the doctor already said she is high risk. .

Your friend must get Pap Smears EVERY 6 MONTHS to keep checking for the "pre-cancerous lesions" on her Cervix. The Good News is that if she gets Paps every 6 months, doctors can REMOVE any lesions before they turn into Cancer. But she must keep getting checked. If she doesnt, then Cancer can and will develop--at that point, it can spread throughout her body.

If your friend does not keep getting Paps every 6 months, she may get cervical cancer and have to get a Hysterectomy.

As for the "bumps", it may be the HPV--but at this point it doesnt matter because there is no cure for the HPV--its something she'll have to live with.

She must tell every man BEFORE they become intimate that she has this--because CONDOMS DO NOT PROTECT PEOPLE FROM HPV BECAUSE ITS CAUGHT SKIN-TO-SKIN..
So, she could infect the next man, even if they wear a condom.

Answer 3

These are more than likely genital warts. Genital warts don't have the same appearance of other warts. And yes HPV(Human Papilloma Virus) is one factor that causes cervical cancer. Your friend should have a PAP smear done every six months to make sure there are no cellular changes. If she is very self concious about them, she can have them removed, but it is very, very painful. Most of the time the warts will go away on their own if left alone. She should know that she can spread HPV even when she doesn't have any physical symptoms and should always have protected sex as well as informing her partners.

Answer 4

Yes, it could be HPV. On the other hand, they could be just warts. In any case, I believe that a majority of U.S. population is already infected with HPV. HPV can be a factor in developing cervical cancer. There's now a vaccine for women to prevent getting HPV.

Answer 5

Yes, it can cause cervical cancer if left untreated. The bumps may be warts, but they might also be skin tags. She needs to see a doctor ASAP to know for sure.

Answer 6

They could be warts. Sometimes they look like tiny skin tags. They can increase or decrease in size. A website that helped me a lot was http://www.webmd.com You can search for HPV there, and there is also message boards that you can discuss and ask questions or see what other people struggle with concerning this disease. Good luck to her.