Human papillomavirus is a fairly common disease. Moreover, according to medical statistics, the carriers of this disease are at least seventy percent of the inhabitants of the globe. In general, the disease is an infection that can affect human epithelial tissue.
As a result of this, the mucous membranes of a person and his genitals can be affected. Outwardly, this is manifested by the presence of a large number of warts on the body in the most unexpected places, including on the genitals .
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The danger of the human papillomavirus for women
In general, HPV is a harmless disease. However, some subtypes of the virus pose a serious danger to humans. In particular, we are talking about HPV types 16 and 18. For a long time it was believed that these types of viruses also did not pose any danger to humans. But a few years ago, Harold Hausen proved the excess negative activity of HPV types 16 and 18. It turned out that these types of human papillomavirus can cause cancer. In particular, cervical cancer in women.
In fairness, it should be noted that for women, the human papillomavirus is much more dangerous than for men. This is due to the fact that some types of HPV can provoke cancer in women. We are talking about cancer of the uterus, as well as oncological diseases of the vagina and prianal region.
If we touch on the age groups of women, then, most often, young girls are exposed to the harmful effects of the virus. However, the disease can also develop in women of a fairly mature age. Often, the intensity of the sexual life that a woman leads is of great importance.
In general, the danger to a woman is the virus type 16 and 18. This is where the greatest danger comes into play. In addition to these types of viruses, there are other types (type 31, 33 , 35, 45) that are also capable of provoking cancer. However, such viruses pose a much lesser danger to a woman than viruses of types 16 and 18.
Ways of infection, features of development
After skin cells are exposed to the harmful effects of the human papillomavirus, a stratum corneum begins to form at the site of infection. In fact, this is a kind of protective reaction of the body, which is trying, with great speed, to reject the “diseased” cells. As a result, a woman becomes a witness to the fact that an excessive number of various neoplasms, in particular warts, is formed on her skin.
There are the following ways of infection with the human papillomavirus type 18:
- Sexual way. It has long been proven that women who lead a fairly active sex life are most susceptible to the development of this kind of disease.
- Various household injuries and injuries. Such injuries include, in particular, skin cuts. In this case, the infection can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the patient’s body.
- Vertical mode of infection, in which the infection is transmitted from mother to child. Here we are talking about the genetic method of infection of the patient.
Diagnosis and treatment
Modern medicine has a huge set of methods, the essence of which is to influence the infection that the human papillomavirus spreads. As usual, the patient can be offered two main types of treatment. One of them refers to the conservative effect on HPV.
Another treatment is the surgical removal of various neoplasms that have arisen on the skin of a woman after she was infected with the human papillomavirus. If we talk about conservative methods of exposure, they include the use of various kinds of medications that can somewhat reduce the activity of HPV.
In particular, we are talking about various kinds of immunomodulators, antiviral drugs. Most often, interferon and galavit are prescribed. The second drug has a rather powerful effect on human immunity, which is able to suppress the development of the virus.
Of course, the use of this kind of medication is not able to completely rid the patient of the disease, but to a large extent relieves him of pronounced symptoms. Now about the surgical treatment. There are situations in which such interventions are absolutely indicated.
With the help of surgical intervention, for example, it is possible and even necessary to remove neoplasms on the cervix. And if we are talking about various kinds of warts that can be located, say, on the face, then this kind of procedure is purely cosmetic.
Virus types
In addition to HPV types 16 and 18, many other types of this virus are known in modern medicine. We are talking about 35, 45, 39, 52 , 33 types of human papillomavirus.
An important characteristic of all these types of HPV is the fact that they can cause cancer. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that HPV types 16 and 18 represent the greatest oncological risk.
Symptoms of the disease
The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of various neoplasms on the patient’s body. In particular, we are talking about the formation of papillomas and warts. At the moment, it is known that if a person has a strong enough immunity, then the virus can recede somewhat in order to completely stop its harmful influence.
However, if a person’s immunity is weak, then after infection with the human papillomavirus, various types of papilloma may appear on the woman’s body. The following types of papilloma can be distinguished , the appearance of which indicates the presence of HPV in the patient’s body. We are talking about plantar papillomas, genital warts, as well as vulgar papillomas.
All these neoplasms are symptoms that a person is infected and is a carrier of a harmful virus. It should be noted that, depending on the type of papilloma, it can be located on different parts of the human skin. For example, plantar papillomas are located on the patient’s feet, and vulgar papillomas on the patient’s hands.
Vaccination
The most common vaccine for the treatment of human papillomavirus is a vaccine called Gardasil . It has received the greatest prevalence not only in the CIS countries, but throughout the world. This kind of vaccination can remove the risk of cervical cancer in humans.
True, it must be administered to the patient in a timely manner so that the virus does not gain its pathological strength. By the way, this vaccine is able to prevent the development of not only HPV type 18 , since it has cross-activity, due to which it affects other common types of the virus.
Due to the presence of cross-activity, a woman will be able to avoid the symptoms that an insidious virus can provoke. In particular, Gardasil is able to prevent the appearance of warts on the patient’s body, as the main symptom of the papillomavirus. Now what concerns the safety of this kind of vaccination.
It is known for certain that the vaccine is not entirely safe. This is due to the fact that it can cause all sorts of side effects that can stop the use of the vaccine. Moreover, there is a risk of death when using Gardasil. It is noted that this kind of outcome was observed in eight percent of cases.
How to treat a virus?
Various methods are used for healing. The most effective of them are presented below.
For antiviral therapy, a wide range of modern medicines are used that can suppress the development of the virus. The drugs of choice are cycloferon and reaferon. If we talk about the first drug, then it is a more expensive drug than reaferon, but it also has a significantly greater antiviral activity.
The essence of the impact of such drugs is that papillomavirus cells are suppressed, which prevents the spread of infection throughout the body. As a result, the number of pathogens that provoke HPV types 16 and 18 is significantly reduced.
Surgical treatment
Quite often, one has to resort to surgical treatment of the human papillomavirus. If HPV manifested itself in the idea of a genital wart on a woman’s genitals, then this is an absolute indication for the removal of this type of neoplasm.
This is due to the fact that such a condyloma quite often degenerates into oncology. If we are talking about warts, then only cosmetic procedures take place here. With the help of them, it is impossible to cure the carrier of the virus from this kind of disease, but it is possible to improve the aesthetic condition of human skin.
Restoration of the body’s defenses
To restore the protective functions of the body, drugs are often used that can enhance human immunity. A woman’s strong immunity is a guarantee that she will be able to defeat an insidious and oncologically dangerous disease much faster. To restore the protective functions of the body, Galavit becomes the drug of choice.
This is a very common medication that is used to “promotion” of human immunity. It should be noted that such drugs hide the potential danger, which lies in the fact that uncontrolled and frequent intake of pills can lead to uncoordinated work of the human immune system.
Drugs prescribed for infection
It is necessary to distinguish various kinds of drugs belonging to different classes that are used in the treatment of human papillomavirus:
- Galavit.
- Immunomax.
- Polyoxidonium .
- Viferon.
- Immunofan.
The above are drugs that have an immunomodulatory effect.
Antiviral drugs should also be highlighted:
- Acyclovir.
- Altevir .
- Reaferon.
- Cycloferon.
There is also a whole range of fairly effective medicines that have a destructive effect. These include:
- Solkovagin.
- Let’s do it.
Disease prevention and living with the virus
First of all, a young girl can and should protect herself during sexual intercourse. This is a fairly important way to prevent the human papillomavirus. Protected sex is not capable of provoking HPV type 18. In addition, the abuse of tobacco products, which contribute to the penetration of carcinogens into the human body, should be abandoned.
In order not to get infected with HPV type 18, you need to carefully monitor your health, be more selective in relationships and follow all recommended precautions. At the slightest suspicion of a virus, visit a doctor.
