HPV symptoms - Common warts
Common warts usually grow on fingers, hands, knees, and elbows. A common wart is dome-shaped and is usually grayish-brown. It has a rough surface with black dots. The wart that was giving Andrew so much trouble was probably a common wart. . Source: KidsHealth
HPV symptoms - Flat warts
Flat warts are also called juvenile warts, probably because kids get them more often than adults do. These warts are small and about the size of a pinhead. They're smoother than other kinds of warts and have flat tops. A flat wart may be pink, light brown, or yellow. Most kids who get flat warts have them on their faces, but flat warts can also grow on arms, knees, or hands. There can be as many as 100 flat warts all clustered together. Source: KidsHealth
HPV symptoms - Plantar warts
Although most warts are painless, a wart on the bottom of the foot - called a plantar wart - can be very uncomfortable. It can feel like you have a stone in your shoe. You can't do much to avoid other kinds of warts, but you do stand a chance against plantar warts. If you change your shoes and socks every day, keep your feet clean and dry, and don't walk barefoot in public places, the soles of your feet most likely won't get infected with HPV. Source: KidsHealth
HPV symptoms - Genital warts
Visible signs of the disease include condylomata, which range from soft, pink, cauliflower-like warts to hard, smooth, yellow-gray warts. In women, they may develop inside the vagina, where they are hard to detect. They may also appear on the lips of the vagina or around the anus. In men, they usually appear on the penis, but are sometimes found on the scrotum (the sac that holds the testicles) or around the anus.
HPV symptoms - It helps to know...
- HPV can cause genital warts. Even if you do not have the warts, you can have the virus and can give HPV to another person during sexual contact.
- It's difficult to know when you became infected. You can have the virus for years without any symptoms.
- At this time, HPV has no cure. The warts and the dysplasia can be treated, but the virus may remain in your body. Treatment will relieve the symptoms and help prevent the spread of HPV.
- If you have HPV, tell your partner(s). A partner who has warts will also need treatment.
- Some strains of HPV infections increase a woman's risk of cancer of the cervix.
HPV symptoms - How do I know I have HPV?
Finding visible warts is one way of knowing. Abnormal cell changes of the cervix (dysplasia) may also be found with a Pap test. In either case, your doctor may recommend that a 'colposcopy' examination be done. During a colposcopy, a viewing "scope" is used for a closer look at your cervix, vagina and vulva. A small sample of tissue (biopsy) may be taken and examined in a laboratory. Genital HPV may infect any part of your genital area. This includes your vulva, vagina, cervix, urethra and anus. In men, warts most often appear on the penis, scrotum and/or anus. Genital warts often appear as small bumps. You may not have HPV symptoms or you may notice some burning, itching, pain or bleeding.
Credit: Calgary Health Region
