Talk:Genital wart

Strains
According to the HPV variants involved are typically HPV 6 and HPV 11. -- The Anome 16:17, Jun 13, 2005 (UTC)

Cleanup Nomination
I nominated this page for cleanup for the following reasons:
 * Duplicate/Incomplete Section
 * Bad References Section
 * Some bad verbage

pearly penile papules
if you guys look at:  [external spammy link removed] 

youll see that the same pic on this page is: pearly penile papules

from that page: "HOWEVER--- If you are a guy and think you might have genital warts, do NOT confuse them with what are called pearly penile papules (see below) - penile papules are a rather normal thing for men in general (I've had a few myself ever since I was very young) - they are not harmful in any way and the only reason to care about them is if they are excessively large or long. The ones shown below in the photo are a little excessive, but not by very much."

so maybe somebody should change pic... and also add that pearly penile papules and warts can be confused somewhere

Picture
Yeah come on here. It is not necessary to show the worst cases in the last stages of the seventh circle of hell. How about showing those pictures into a section called "Heavily affected instances of genital warts".

As an analogy - Why would you keep a picture of a napalm victim, in an article about light burns. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.62.0.20 (talk) 08:11, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

In this instance, a picture may actually prove helpful.


 * there are people complaining to "clean up" a desription of genital warts and their transmission, I'm not sure a picture is going to go down to well —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.109.158.19 (talk) 16:42, 8 May 2007 (UTC).

I think genital warts and pictures of genital warts should be on separate pages ...nuff said —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.127.55.191 (talk • contribs)


 * Well, if you go to the Genital warts page, it seems reasonable that you might expect to see an image of them, eh? -- MarcoTolo 00:49, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

I think there should be better pictures, as in more relevant pictures. These are very severe cases and are labeled properly but I think that a picture of a common case would be more prudent as this is not the Guinness World Book of Records. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.244.141.219 (talk) 00:32, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

200 grit sandpaper
I removed a comment about using 200 grit sandpaper to deter chances of regrowth, nothing was cited for where it came from, and I have never heard of that before. Also it had a bad no http:// link in that portion of the article.

24.51.180.107 20:48, 19 February 2006 (UTC)fbp

It was from a male subject who stated on his online blog how he had the virus and used fingernail clippers and sandpaper to remove the wart(s). The male would have unprotected sex with females who were unaware of his STI.

Wadi!?
Is "wadi" a widely known term?
 * That should be changed to something mroe descriptive I think. :)

Sandpaper??
No, but according to  [external spammy link removed]  there are a number of treatments including: burning (electrocautery), freezing (cryosurgery), excision, poisons (podophyllin toxins), acid based prescription medications, or alternative natural treatments. Most of the treatments leave scarring, but the natural alternatives don't - if you can find one that works. Some have great customer referencs, so it's worth exploring them. But for women who have internal genital warts - surgery is the only option, and they need to get regular pap-smears to determine if they have them. Genital warts can cause cell changes in the cervix and this will lead to cervical cancer in most cases if the affected cells are not removed.

Genital warts may reappear after removal
Most of the people are not aware that genital warts can reapper after removal. Because the virus stays in the body, it surfaces again.

I know from experience....
I have HPV. It is NOT TRUE that after the initial wart(s) is removed the problem is over. Recurring outbreaks will happen and continue to happen if you do not seek treatment (not sandpaper- thats just dumb!)

I think that this site is very informative and correct in its information. The information I got from doctors was far more vague and left me feeling confused. Judging from my own experience with HPV, I would say that this article is valid and should be taken very seriously.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Having contracted HPV and too embaressed to go to the doc to get it removed, I started reading around on natual home remedies. Apple Cider Vinegar is commonly used to great effect and is a fraction of the cost of many of the other remedies out there.

It's quite long, but I found the following forum particularly helpful:  [external spammy link removed] 
 * Vinegar is worthless. If you are too embarrassed to see your doctor (and you shouldn't be: he's seen much worse things than warts), call Planned Parenthood or an STD clinic and make an appointment.


 * I agree, don't be embarrassed, I contracted HPV about half a year ago and went into the clinic, the nurses removed them for me and after 3 more visits they haven't returned. Personally it would be hard to go into my family doctor but an STD clinic deals with this every day and are not going to be bothered by something they deal with daily.

According to  [external spammy link removed] , During the application of apple cider vinegar treatment on your genital warts, you might feel slight discomfort, which usually comes in the form of a tingling or burning sensation. This is to be expected, and is nothing to worry about  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Comfis (talk • contribs) 08:01, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

I've found apple cider vinegar (Heinz, 5% acidity) to be the best method for someone who can't afford a doctor visit or doesn't have health insurance. It can remove the warts in 3-4 days, in my case, and won't adversely affect the uninfected skin whereas a lot of other over-the-counter treatments, such as salicylic acid (compound w), will burn all kinds of flesh. Application methods are the trickiest part. Use waterproof bandaids that sufficiently covers the affected area, use cotton from q-tips or another clean source, tissue paper is good for large areas. Reinforcing the bandaid with waterproof bandages helps the liquid stay in. I found this site invaluable for this method --  [external spammy link removed] . —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikiwarts (talk • contribs) 05:14, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

genital warts and cervical cancer are caused by DIFFERENT strains of HPV!!
UNTRUE...

Quote from the Wikipedia entry on HPV (and numerous other sources corroborate):

"It is important to note that HPV types that tend to cause genital warts are not the same ones that cause cervical cancer." - this is untrue...

Actually, 4 types of HPV are the cause of 90% of gential warts cases and 70% of cases of cervical cancer. And the genital warts virus (HPV) causes cervical cancer - though 71% of parents were unaware of that fact as per that survey conducted by the Centre for Disease Control < personal note on this data: genital warts was reponsible for my near miss with cervical cancer at the age of 31 - I had progressed to CIN III (the stage before the cells become cancerous), I had no idea I had genital warts as they were internal, and my specialist gynae informed me that the cause of the cell mutation which was leading to certain cervical carcinoma was a strain of the genital warts virus >
 * I find no evidence to back up your claim. The CDC states, on at least three separate pages, that some types cause warts and other types cause cancers. The four-strain vaccine protects from two of each. In your case, you likely had more than one strain.

How accurate are those pictures?
Are those typical genital warts? or are they larger than normal warts? it appears in the picture that there are even warts growing on top of warts. What does a single genital wart look like? Could somebody put up a picture of a more mild case? 75.26.189.55 09:11, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

I can't find a picture of a more mild case, but no, the pictures here represent only the most extreme cases. I would think these are people that let this go untreated for years. I don't see how one could go about day to day bodily functions like that. Normally they are small nodules, pink colored, and few in number. There should be a pic of a milder case so people can recognize them when they see them.

I also have other questions ... the article says they are highly contagious but don't comment on what might prevent or how effective condoms are with regard to them. Can they be spread simply by touching an infected area and touching someone else later? --206.40.229.27 23:29, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Milder examples of genital warts can be found here:  [external spammy link removed] 

Angry Penguins 15:13, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Sometimes they look like tiny stalks or threads hanging out. Pictures should show different types. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.184.27.253 (talk) 10:20, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Images from Commons
Please help me to add the images from Wikimedia Commons to this article. -Pgan002 12:39, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Please don't. They're so awful. -- H3xx ( t/c/b ) 03:52, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
 * What kind of response is this? Imagine Reason (talk) 20:34, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

block editing
the last comment on the misdiagnosis part may be a reason to disallow editing.


 * Generally, they can't be. See WP:RFPP. Imagine Reason (talk) 20:34, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

I recently spent the evening with a gentleman that has just received his last treatment. We had sex and used a condom, the only problem is I was readingon your site that direct skin-on-skin contact can cause the virus to spread. We sleep naked inthe same bed all night so im guessing his penis may have touched me?

Also, he advised that oral sex was confirmed ok by his GP, could I have contracted the virus in my mouth. Im sorry I don't really know or understand alot about Genital Warts, and was just wanting so information and answers.

Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.155.14.22 (talk • contribs)

Images
The pictures here show very very worst case scenarios. Most people who get these have much smaller, insignificant warts. Maybe some new pictures are needed?? The cases shown actually look nasty - as in, surgical intervention would be appropriate!! Dvmedis (talk) 13:37, 26 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Sounds like a good idea, if we have a source for such images. Zodon (talk) 07:17, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

probability of warts from infected partner
"Approximately 70 percent of individuals who have sexual contact with an infected partner develop genital warts." (Scheinfeld and Lehman, An evidence-based review of medical and surgical treatments of genital warts)

This statement, which is reproduced in the wikipedia article seems dubious - like there is some qualifier missing. The same article says that HPV prevalence in US population is 10-20%. If this is a steady state would expect something like 7 to 14% prevalence of genital warts (70% of 10-20%).

The exact risk of infection from a single sexual encounter is unknown but according to the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology it is in the range of 65%  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.246.234.17 (talk) 03:20, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Also, since, it is estimated that 75 to 80% of sexually active people in the US will be infected with HPV at some point in their lifetime. (See Human papillomavirus) Taken in combination with the above assertion, this suggests that about 50% of sexually active people (70% of 75-80%) in the US develop genital warts, which seems high. Zodon (talk) 07:15, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

- You're forgetting that only certain strains of HPV cause genital warts. It is by no means dubious to assert that 70% of those who have sexual contact with a person infected with one of these strains develop genital warts. --87.72.82.28 (talk) 21:57, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Also see this article, which says in 1971 Oriel found that 64% of those exposed developed genital warts. 216.67.11.101 (talk) 05:44, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

There is an  [external spammy link removed]  which shows multiple risk factors. Would this be a useful addition?


 * Note that this statistic contradicts the subsection of the wikipedia article on HPV:

Genital or anal warts (condylomata acuminata or venereal warts) are the most easily recognized sign of genital HPV infection. Although a wide variety of HPV types can cause genital warts, types 6 and 11 account for about 90% of all cases.

Most people who acquire genital wart-associated HPV types clear the infection rapidly without ever developing warts or any other symptoms. People may transmit the virus to others even if they don't display overt symptoms of infection.

HPV types that tend to cause genital warts are not the same ones that cause cervical cancer. However, since an individual can be infected with multiple types of HPV, the presence of warts does not rule out the possibility of high risk types of the virus also being present.

The types of HPV that cause genital warts are usually different from the types that cause warts on other parts of the body, such as the hands or inner thighs. 86.26.0.25 (talk) 16:51, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Conditions Confused With Genital Warts
On  [external spammy link removed]  They say not just Pearly Penile Papules are confussed as genital warts but also Skin Tags, Genital Herpes, Sebaceous Glands (Fordyce Spots and Angiokeratomas. I for one did confuse my Fordyce Spots as Genital Warts. I was glad to hear they were normal and i hadn't been in fected with HPV. The pictures were a great help too! I also know that the HPV virus does stay in your body for life so will always come back eventually. Apparently by using Immune Sytem Suppressants you can prevent them returning quicker.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.86.90.203 (talk) 21:04, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Oh? You know that it stays in the body forever, eh? See...every doctor I ask and every piece of modern medical literature I read tells me that in most cases the virus is cleared after about two years. So what the fuck are you talking about? You a doctor?

Every case is different. I am a male, and three times I had a single, small wart that I had removed in about a 2 year period. I know who gave me HPV, she told me after she was diagnosed. After the third time, it never came back. That was 17 years ago, never had any symptom again. On a lark, I participated in a study that was being done at a school I taught at, and I was told I did not react to the most common types of HPV. Presumably, my immune system had indeed cleared the virus.214.13.130.104 (talk) 13:52, 2 March 2010 (UTC)Coxman

Pink Psoriasis spots also look very similar, unfortunately I know this firsthand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.74.2.218 (talk) 08:26, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

Apparent contradiction in percentages?
I think I'm not completely stupid, but to me it looks like the following statements are in direct contradiction with one another:


 * 70% of those who have sexual contact with an infected partner develop genital warts, and while less than 1% of those infected become symptomatic, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.85.68.231 (talk) 19:58, 20 July 2010 (UTC)


 * They do seem to be contradictory, as noted in, the 70% figure seems questionable. Zodon (talk) 05:44, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Images
I had provided additional images of Genital Warts outbreaks from  [external spammy link removed]  but the links were removed by the editor. I thought that they would be helpful for anyone looking to see what an outbreak would look like. Much more comprehensive then any image references on this page now. I have provided images for other sections of the Wiki without problems, just seems to be on this page, and the herpes pages.

Maybe those looking at the discussions can be helped by them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidandkimbenton (talk • contribs) 14:20, 17 November 2010 (UTC)
 * This site adds little beyond what Wikipedia has already. If you wish to improve wiki I can help find some review articles for you. Cheers. -- Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 16:56, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

I beg to differ on the images, I don't see any of them here on this site. If you could point me to them, then I might agree. As mentioned by others on this page (near the top) they were requesting more images, so I provided a link to more as a service to the wiki. I believe that removing the link for others to view is not helping the wiki, but rather restricting the information available to others. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidandkimbenton (talk • contribs) 03:38, 23 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The request was for more images on Wikipedia. Not for a link. If people wish more images they can do a google image search. Please read WP:ELNO Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 16:44, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I think it would be nice to have a good external link, but that one isn't really very impressive. In fact it seems like Google's image collection is better for this purpose than the individual sites it links...  it would be very, very nice to find some proper scientific site, with no spamminess to it, with a deep image archive.  But I didn't.  (It would be interesting to see pictures of warts matched by some researcher with their identified subtypes, so you could see if the subtype was somewhat diagnosable by looking at the wart) Wnt (talk) 01:23, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Life consistancy of HPV GW
I just recently found out that i have hpv and i would like to know if it ever goes away and what can be done to keep these levels of hpv below breakout level and or fights off the hpv —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.54.121.187 (talk) 00:13, 18 May 2011 (UTC)


 * The material you suggest adding may be more apropos the article on human papillomavirus. There is also some coverage of this in Cervical cancer.  Such things have probably been better studied in relation to cervical cancer, since it is a more serious condition. Zodon (talk) 02:34, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Transmission Clarification
The article currently reads: "It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner." However I was under the impression that if a hand touched an infected genital area and the touched an unaffected genital area it can spread. I'm not saying it can spread to the hands but that maybe the hands can spread it. In other words a hand job and then masturbation might spread it from person to person or vice versa. Can anyone clarify this?

Transmission Clarification
The article currently reads: "It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner." However I was under the impression that if a hand touched an infected genital area and the touched an unaffected genital area it can spread. I'm not saying it can spread to the hands but that maybe the hands can spread it. In other words a hand job and then masturbation might spread it from person to person or vice versa. Can anyone clarify this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.60.84 (talk) 21:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 6 May 2013
According to UPtoDate, a highly respected and current online medical resource, TCA and BCA are the ONLY treatments approved to treat vaginal warts. The WIkipedia articles states the opposite. Please change "Trichloracetic acid is not recommended for use in the vagina, cervix, or urinary meatus" to Trichloracetic acid can be used on the vagina and cervix and during pregnancy." Thank you. J. Breton, MSN, CNM, RN

198.217.64.36 (talk) 22:04, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. UPtoDate may be highly respected and current, but you need to show exactly where you got your source; probably a specific URL. -Nathan Johnson (talk) 15:27, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

informal review
Dear UseTheCommandLine, I'm a relatively new wiki member and would like to make some comments about your article: Some more specific comments: the vaccine this will certainly not be true in the future. Overall All this said, I think an excellent article. Kind regards, LT90001 (talk) 08:52, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Overal I think an excellent and very well-written article. If only there were an army of UseThe CommandLine clones to edit WikiMed!
 * "studies, HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives.[2]" I did a quick Google and results range from 75% on some websites to as low as 12% in self-reported lifetime incidence (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/13/39). At any rate, that's not 'nearly all'. Secondly, this may have been true retrospectively, but with
 * The "Signs and symptoms" section is uncited.
 * Some double line breaks between sections (eg. Signs and Symptoms, Causes)
 * I feel 'Transmission' should make a direct statement that the cause is contact between an infected site (eg penile head) and another site, as you mention in the introduction. This is most commonly through sexual penetration but can occur through other means (eg. oral sex, auto-inoculation).
 * The "if an individual has unprotected sex with the infected partner, there is a 70%..." is uncited.
 * I find it is a little unclear as to the 70% and the stated 3/4 acquisition sexual partners is from continuous sexual contact or just a single sexual event.
 * Latency and recurrence: "although 90% are cleared by the body"... then you say "30% of people with warts will experience a recurrence.". How do I reconcile this?
 * I suggest move" As many as 80% of people with HPV will clear the infection within 18 months.[6]" from Management to the above (90% section).
 * Management section: "simple excision, such as with scissors" not too sure, but in my experience it's preferentially conducted with a scalpel.
 * Feeling a little left out here in this non-US country by the solely-US statistics in the Epidemiology section.
 * If possible maybe you could specifically mention some other strains (perhaps in the path section) that are linked with HPV, as there are others than just 6 and 11.
 * This article lacks a pathophysiology section outlining what biological processes cause a wart to actually form.


 * Thanks for your input. in some cases (such as the diagnosis section) I have simply cited the entire section rather than each sentence; in that section, there individual sentences are facts culled from sometimes different parts of the article. And further, I haven't gotten to the chemical treatments or the epi section yet, and i didn't know how much time it would take for someone to review it.
 * What I'm taking from your comments:
 * clearance vs recurrence needs clarification
 * perhaps more references for the "nearly all people" -- or maybe equivocate and say it is exceedingly common, or "estimates vary, but $source says..."
 * clarify the term "scissors excision" which is i guess a term of art used in a couple of the articles i saw
 * Pathophysiology section. I was sort of hoping to just leave this mostly up to the HPV article. It's not well studied, honestly, and I was a little wary of the potential redundancy. There is remarkably scant evidence on this topic; much more about the higher risk HPV variants, but of course those dont cause warts, so...
 * Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions! -- [ UseTheCommandLine  ~/ talk  ]# &#9604; 09:14, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Try the tag, that way can refer to the main article. Re feedback, you're welcome! LT90001 (talk) 09:36, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Some quick comments: --WS (talk) 12:52, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
 * can you add a history section (, full text available on PMC might be helpful)?
 * and a separate prognosis section (currently spread throughout the article)
 * what is the chance of vertical transmission occuring?
 * what are the consequences of warts for pregnancy
 * the effect of hpv vaccination should probably be mentioned under epidemiology
 * association between genital warts and malignancy is largely missing
 * risk factors are missing (hiv, type of sex for location of warts)
 * whether or not to test and treat sexual partners should be discussed
 * mention which medical treatments are suitable for vaginal warts

A sentence does not seem to make sense. Could it please be improved.
"About 90% of those who contract HPV will not develop genital warts, but the remaining 10% who are infected can still transmit the virus."

Does not seem to make sense. Could it please be improved. 81.48.40.171 (talk) 17:05, 25 April 2016 (UTC)Martin A

SIgns and Symptoms (One of Key Sections) Only Has One Insufficient Source
In any medical article one of the first sections people will go to is signs and symptoms, one of the main reasons WebMD is used. In a topic that is as important as HPV signs and symptoms the fact that this article is using one source and that source is from an article in a medical journal from almost 6 years ago that most people can't access does not bode well. If Wikipedia acts like no improvements have been made in medical research on HPV since then and there isn't a higher standard in place for an article as visited as this what does it say for others?

I mean if this is really on the info on this then at least demand a more current source showing that to remove all doubt. If I visited a Dr and he told me he last brushed up on his material in 2012 I would walk out of his office.

I get talk shouldn't be this combative and more constructive but it's frustrating trying to help someone and leave you as a resource for them and not being able to. JaqenHghar80 (talk) 01:50, 1 January 2018 (UTC)


 * I don't see the age of this source as an issue. How much are you expecting the signs and symptoms of genital warts to have changed in the last 6 years? If the source were used for treatment then you may have a point, but that's not the case here. Coincidentally, most of the information in that section doesn't actually appear to be in the source, so more citations actually are needed. PriceDL (talk) 02:25, 1 January 2018 (UTC)


 * I have partially cited the section. PriceDL (talk) 02:33, 1 January 2018 (UTC)


 * It's not that the symptoms have changed it's that what we know about the symptoms has changed and which ones to apply to that disease. Medicine advances at a rapid pace and that includes all aspects of epidemiology and pathology.  I mean new studies are being published all the time about what signs and symptoms are attributed to what condition all the time and a lot of the time certain symptoms that we thought were attributed to one condition or were significant can turn out not to be or vice versa.  In fact there was a study done between genital warts and then onset of MS though it was too small and further research is needed.

My main point from my statement was not so much that the content was wrong so much that there are much better references that are more current and if you are going to have such an important article then why not cover your bases and make sure the research is up to date with current science? People who are sick are going to look at symptoms before anything else and if that information isn't up to date then it will effect treatment. There is probably a reason why Wikipedia articles used to be one of the top results when research medical issues and Google has penalized them recently. Knowing what I know from my SEO background having your sources be so old would be one of the reasons.

I don't have a problem if the article isn't being updated regularly, like if the last time this article had been touched was 2012 thus explaining it's source then I would understand because this is a big site with only so many editors but that is not the case. JaqenHghar80 (talk) 00:41, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 January 2018
Delete duplicate "include" and replace comma with "and" before final item in sentence: "Treatment options include include creams such as podophyllin, imiquimod, trichloroacetic acid." in introduction. 82.1.122.99 (talk) 00:02, 5 January 2018 (UTC) 82.1.122.99 (talk) 00:02, 5 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done –72 (talk)  01:01, 5 January 2018 (UTC)

Red
Which article should sensitive DNA techniques go? Thanks. --Somatic dyspenea (talk) 11:50, 23 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Have unlinked. We already have PCR listed. Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 14:35, 23 November 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 January 2023
May I request that someone connect this article to the Italian Condiloma acuminato https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condiloma acuminato which you will notice uses the same photos and translates perfectly as genital wart Many thanks AntGreenit (talk) 22:42, 1 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done:, this should be done on Wikidata, not Wikipedia. Lemonaka (talk) 06:35, 2 January 2023 (UTC)