What Is Papilloma and Why Does It Appear?

Have you noticed some growths on your body? Probably, it is a papilloma. If you have never known what is papilloma, you may confuse it with other skin problems.

Papilloma refers to a benign neoplasm by its nature. It is believed that they occur because of the papillomavirus, transmitted by household and sexual intercourse.

Papillomas tend to appear in places where friction and trauma occur most often. In addition, a negative factor is a long exposure to the sun, hormonal imbalance, weak immunity.

Contents

• What Is a Papilloma and How Does It Look Like?
• What Is Human Papillomavirus?
• What Is Human Papilloma: Stages of Papillomavirus
• What Is Papilloma Virus Provocative Factor?
• What Is the Human Papilloma Virus Prevention?

What Is a Papilloma and How Does It Look Like?

All benign neoplasms on the skin and mucous membranes are referred to as papillomas (we are talking about manifestations of the wart type: genital warts, flat papules, warts themselves). It looks like a small nodule and looks like cauliflower buds. The sizes of papillomas range from 1 mm to 2 cm. When they first appear, they are almost indistinguishable from the skin in color. But gradually they darken to a rich brown shade.

Rash of warts on the skin is more often noted on the neck, around the eyes, on the head, in the armpits, inguinal folds. From the mucous membranes, the papilloma can be found on the cervix, external genitalia, vagina. Multiple warts appearing in different places can also indicate the presence of papillomavirus.

Back

What Is Human Papillomavirus?

The papillomavirus has many types: there are over 70 types. It penetrates the body through normal cracks, abrasions on the mucous membranes and skin. What is human papilloma virus caused by? Most often it spreads through sexual intercourse, it is more difficult to get infected in everyday life.

Human papillomavirus is extremely widespread. According to statistics, almost 90% of people are carriers of HPV. The virus is cunning. It does not immediately declare itself and can exist for years in the human body without affecting the work of vital organs. This hibernation can end at any moment, and what contributes to this is difficult to predict, just as the result of its sudden activity cannot be predicted. One thing is clear: everything that somehow undermines the body’s defenses, serves as a kind of springboard for the unfolding hostilities of the papillomavirus.

Back

What Is Human Papilloma: Stages of Papillomavirus

HPV is characterized by three stages:

1. The 1st one is latent, when the virus lurks in the body and at the cellular level does not make itself felt. There are no changes or disturbances in the vital activity of the body observed. To find out about the presence of a viral infection is possible only with the help of laboratory tests.
2. Clinical signs are characteristic for the 2nd stage. Due to the fact that cells begin to divide in an accelerated mode, recognizable growths appear on the skin.
3. At the 3d stage, dysplasia develops from the fact that the DNA of the virus interacts with the DNA of the cell and a specific change in the cellular structure begins. Sometimes, this can lead to the 4th stage, when the transformation takes oncogenic character (that is, the cells mutate) and carcinoma is formed. But the last stage occurs only in certain types of virus.

If a person is infected with this virus, the infection will remain with him/her for life — no medicine was invented to cure it to the full extent. Therefore, it is recommended to treat papillomas, if necessary, remove them and constantly be examined by a doctor for possible pathological degeneration of tumors.

Back

What Is Papilloma Virus Provocative Factor?

What is papilloma virus in humans? It is the virus provoked by various diseases: it can be vulgar warts, and so-called flat warts (look like small growths on the skin of the face and palms), most often found in children and adolescents. If the immunity is strong enough, then it does not lead to any serious consequences.

The danger of infection with the papilloma virus lies in the fact that a person feels quite healthy, especially against the background of strong immunity (it suppresses viral activity). But at the same time an infected person can infect other people. In men, the presence of condylomas on the genitals is usually conspicuous, or the virus signals such symptoms as pain during urination, bleeding during defecation (if the anus is affected). However, they may have asymptomatic course.

Back

What Is the Human Papilloma Virus Prevention?

Experts say that this virus (HPV) can trigger the development of cancer (mainly cancer of the cervix and external genital organs). But not every papilloma leads to cancer: different strains of the virus have different levels of oncogenicity. Moreover, from the moment of infection with a virus to the mutation of cells into a malignant tumor can take about 10-20 years.

Prevention of papilloma is based on a healthy lifestyle. The fact is that smoking, obesity, alcohol, hormonal disruptions can «awaken» a sleeping virus peacefully and trigger the pathological process of the malignant change of papillomas. Therefore, it is better to adhere to a healthy diet, go in for sports and carefully monitor personal and intimate hygiene.