*Note: With many sexually transmitted infections, there may be no symptoms or symptoms may be missed or mistaken for other issues. The best way to know if you have a sexually transmitted infection is to be tested regularly or to go to a medical provider immediately if there is any change in your normal body conditions.
A: Symptoms of HPV/Genital Warts
There are many different types of HPV. Most are physically harmless - especially the ones which cause the external warts you can see. There are a few types, classified as high risk, which can cause changes in the cells of the cervix (opening to the uterus), the cells of the anus, and the cells of the penis and could lead to cancer. For this reason, it is recommended that all women should have a pap smear test every year. Federal health officials are currently considering recommending yearly anal pap smears for sexually active gay and bisexual men.
Not everyone who has HPV will have visible warts. Warts may appear as cauliflower-shaped growths or may be flat and only slightly raised from the skin. They may be single or multiple, small or large. They tend to be flesh-colored or whitish in appearance. Warts usually do not cause itching or burning. A general practitioner or dermatologist can diagnose HPV if there are warts present.
Sometimes genital warts are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. This is sometimes called "subclinical HPV." This means that a person may not even know he or she has the type or types of HPV that cause genital warts.
Check out the HPV and Men factsheet from the CDC.
Thanks to Howard Brown Health Center for providing this information.
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AFC Hosts Forum on HPV and Men
HIV/HPV: Men Get It Too!Wednesday, October 15, 2008
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
University Center, Lake Room
525 S. State Street, Chicago, Illinois
The development of a new Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has given women and girls a powerful new tool to prevent HPV-related diseases, such as cervical cancer. But what about men?
An estimated 60% of men ages 18 to 70 are infected with HPV but few are aware of the potential health consequences infection may cause. These consequences are further complicated when individuals are co-infected with HIV.
Join us to explore these quesions and more at this FREE forum designed to help service providers and community advocates raise public awareness and action about these related epidemics as well as the systems in place to assist affected individuals.
Featured Presenters:
Dr. Thomas Broker,
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Dr. Anna Guiliano,
Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
Dr. Frank Palella,
Division of Infectious Disease, Northwestern University
Registration is FREE, but required.
To register, click HERE.
Questions? Contact Cynthia Tucker at ctucker@aidschicago.org or (312) 334-0914.
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