Will it hurt if I touch something sharp and wet?

After being infected with genital warts, cauliflower-like warts will appear around the genitals. However, this kind of thing is easy to misdiagnose. You cannot simply rely on one symptom to make a judgment. A comprehensive diagnosis is very important. Some people, not understanding the condition of genital warts, judge based on whether the symptom causes pain. So, will it hurt to touch something sharp and wet? What are the symptoms of genital warts?

Generally, warts are painless to the touch, but if they are slightly larger, you may feel uncomfortable in your life.

Clinical manifestations

The incubation period is 1 to 8 months, with an average of 3 months, and it mainly occurs in sexually active people.

1. Typical genital warts

The genitals and perianal area are the most common sites. In men, it is more common in the foreskin, frenulum, coronal sulcus, glans penis, urethral orifice, penis shaft, perianal area, rectum and scrotum. In women, it is more common in the labia majora and minora, posterior symphysis, vestibule, clitoris, cervix and perianal area. It can occasionally be seen in areas other than the genitals and perianal area, such as the armpits, umbilicus, mouth, breasts, and between the toes. Female vaginitis and male foreskin are factors that promote the occurrence of genital warts.

The lesions initially appear as small, light red papules, which gradually increase in size and number, and are distributed singly or in clusters. They are moist and soft, with an uneven surface and appear as nipple-like, cockscomb-like, or cauliflower-like protrusions. Red or dirty grey. The roots often have pedicles and are prone to erosion and exudation, and bleed easily when touched. Purulent secretions often accumulate between the cracks of the skin lesions, causing a foul odor, and secondary infection may occur due to scratching. This disease often has no subjective symptoms, and some patients may experience foreign body sensation, pain, itching or pain during sexual intercourse. Genital warts in the rectum may cause pain, blood in the stool, and a feeling of tenesmus.

2. HPV subclinical infection

HPV infection is clinically not recognizable to the naked eye, but evidence of HPV infection can be found by acetic acid whitening test (local whitening after smearing or wet compressing with 5% acetic acid solution), tissue pathology or nucleic acid detection technology.

3. Relationship with tumors

A large amount of epidemiological data shows that HPV infection (mainly high-risk HPV, such as HPV-16 and HPV-18) is closely related to the occurrence of genital cancers, such as cervical cancer and penile cancer.

The prognosis is generally good after treatment. However, no matter which treatment method is used, recurrence is possible.

treat

The treatment of genital warts must adopt comprehensive treatment.

1. Treat the cause (foreskin is too long, vaginitis, balanitis, gonorrhea, etc.).

2. Improve the body's immunity.

3. Chemotherapy

(1) 0.5% podophyllotoxin tincture (or 0.15% cream) is suitable for the treatment of genital warts with a diameter of ≤10mm, with a clinical cure rate of about 90%. The total wart area should not exceed 10cm2, and the total daily medication should not exceed 0.5ml. After application, the local medication should be allowed to dry naturally. The main side effects are local irritation, which may include itching, burning pain, redness, swelling, erosion and necrosis. In addition, this drug is teratogenic and should not be used by pregnant women.

(2) 5% imiquimod cream is used to treat genital warts, with an average wart clearance rate of 56%. The advantage of this therapy is the low recurrence rate, which is about 13%. The appearance of erythema is not an indication for discontinuation of medication, but the appearance of erosion or damage requires discontinuation of medication and a follow-up visit. The doctor will treat the wound and decide whether to continue the medication. Side effects are mainly local irritation, which may include itching, burning pain, erythema, and erosion. The safety of imiquimod during pregnancy has not been established and it is contraindicated in pregnant women.

(3) 80% to 90% trichloroacetic acid or dichloroacetic acid must be treated by a doctor. When using, apply a small amount of liquid medicine on the wart lesion and wait for it to dry. At this time, a layer of white frost will form on the surface. During treatment, care should be taken to protect the surrounding normal skin and mucous membranes. If there is an excess of topical medication, talcum powder, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or liquid soap can be applied to neutralize excess, unreacted acid. This medicine should not be used for hyperkeratosis or large, multiple, or extensive warts. Adverse reactions include local irritation, redness, swelling, erosion, etc.

4. Cryotherapy

Using liquid nitrogen at a low temperature of -196℃, the freezing method is used to treat genital warts, which promotes the necrosis and shedding of wart tissue. The operation is simple, efficient, and easy for patients to tolerate. This method is suitable for condyloma acuminatum with a small number and small area. It can be treated 1 to 2 times with an interval of one week.

5. Laser treatment

Usually CO2 laser is used to treat genital warts by cauterization. Single or a small number of warts can be treated once, while multiple or large warts can be treated 2 to 3 times, with an interval of one week.

6. Electrocautery

Use high-frequency electroacupuncture or electrosurgery to remove warts. This therapy is suitable for warts with small number and small area.

7. Aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT therapy)

This method can selectively kill vigorously proliferating cells, not only destroying condyloma acuminatum visible to the naked eye, but also clearing subclinical lesions and latently infected tissues. It has the advantages of high cure rate, low recurrence rate, few and mild adverse reactions, and good patient compliance.

8. Surgery

Suitable for giant genital warts, for removal of the warts in whole or in batches.

9. Immunotherapy

It is not recommended to be used alone, but can be used as an auxiliary treatment and to prevent recurrence. Interferon can be injected intramuscularly, subcutaneously, or at the base of the lesion, interleukin-2 can be injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly, and polycytokines can be injected intramuscularly.