Human Papilloma Virus Symptoms Treatments Who's at risk?

Essay by DANIMAL69University, Bachelor'sA+, August 2004

download word file, 6 pages 5.0

HPV: Causes, Concerns, and Cures

There are health concerns that create trepidation in the general populace of America. Many, such as some influenzas, AIDS, and cancer, are life-threatening; others, such as the common cold, are primarily more an inconvenience. Human Papilloma Virus, HPV for short, is one such of the latter. However, for some people this can be either an indication of a larger threat. Some forms of the virus can lead to larger problems for people with certain medical conditions.

What is HPV? What are some of the causes? What major concerns might individuals with this virus have? Are there any cures? Who is affected, and can it be avoided? Can someone with this virus life a healthy and productive life? What are the risk factors? These are all typical questions one might ask regarding any medical concern; medical experts spend their lives seeking answers to every type of health problem out there, and HPV is no exception.

Fortunately, there are answers, and these answers are a source of relief.

Let us first examine the definition of HPV. Understanding a disease starts with definition of its properties and causes. Human papillomavirus causes warts. Warts are non-cancerous skin growths whose appearance depends on where they grow. There are various types of warts: seed (or common) warts, plantar warts, flat warts, and genital warts are a few.

Common warts usually grow on the fingers, around the nails and on the backs of the hands. They are more common where skin has been broken, for example where fingernails are bitten or hangnails picked. They are often called "seed" warts because the blood vessels to the wart produce black dots that look like seeds (American Academy of Dermatology, 2000.).

Another type of HPV appears on the soles of the feet and is...