1. Symptoms of Genital Warts
If you have genital warts that are visible to the eye, they are very easy to diagnose. The warts look either like flat, flesh-colored bumps or cauliflower-looking clusters of bumps. These bumps can be located anywhere around your genital area, including the inside and outside of the vagina and on the cervix. Men can have these warts on the penis and scrotum. They can also be found in the mouth or throat--if a person has had oral sexual contact with an infected person--or on and around the anus. Additional symptoms of genital warts include itchiness or discomfort of the genitals and bleeding with sexual intercourse.
2. Physical Examination
If you notice these symptoms, visit your doctor for a physical examination. In most cases, your doctor will be able to diagnose genital warts on sight. This is particularly true if the warts have coalesced into a large mass, either internally or externally. If the warts are too small to be seen overtly, however, your doctor may use an acetic acid solution to make them whiten. A colposcope, a microscope used to magnify and examine the tissues of the vulva, vagina and cervix, may also be used to diagnose genital warts in an early stage. If caught early, this condition can be treated before overt warts develop.
3. Regular Pap Tests
Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Having a Pap test, a gynecological test that detects infections and abnormalities in the cervix, can diagnose HPV early. You should have a Pap test once a year, beginning no more than 3 years after you become sexually active, or at 21 years of age. If your Pap test is inconclusive, there are also tests that can detect the DNA of high-risk HPV strains. A positive HPV test before genital warts have grown will allow you to get treatment to prevent wart growth, but there is no treatment that can cure HPV. Usually, the body's immune system fights the virus off over time.
