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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
Because it's often difficult to detect genital warts, your doctor may apply a mild acetic acid solution to your genitals to whiten any warts. Then, he or she may view them through a special microscope.
Pap tests
For women, it's important to have regular pelvic exams and Pap tests, which can help detect vaginal and cervical changes caused by genital warts or the early signs of cervical cancer — a possible complication of genital HPV infection.
During a Pap test, your doctor will use a device call a speculum to hold open your vagina. He or she will then use a long-handled tool to collect a small sample of cells from your cervix — the passage between your vagina and your uterus. The cells are examined with a microscope for abnormalities.
HPV test
Only a few varieties of genital HPV have been linked to cervical cancer. A sample of cervical cells, taken during a Pap test, can be tested for these cancer-causing HPV strains. This test is generally reserved for women ages 30 and older. It isn't as useful for younger women because their immune systems usually can kill even cancer-causing varieties of genital HPV without treatment.
- Habif TP. Genital warts. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 5th ed. Edinburgh, U.K.; New York, N.Y.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00020-1&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&sid=1095050809&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00020-1--s0020&uniqId=229999267-4#4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00020-1--s0020. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Genital HPV infection: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Breen E, et al. Condylomata acuminata (anogenital warts). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Douglas JM. Papillomavirus. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Making sense of your Pap and HPV test results. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/pap/default.htm. Accessed Dec. 14, 2010.
- Special procedures: The Pap test. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp085.cfm. Accessed Dec. 15, 2010.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Recommendations on the use of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in males — Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2011:60;1705.
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