What are the symptoms of HPV in women?

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that women are very likely to develop, and there are many factors that cause cervical cancer, including some external factors and internal factors. For example, after being infected with human papillomavirus, if you do not receive effective treatment, the virus will become rampant and you will eventually develop cervical cancer. But many times, female friends do not know that they are infected with the virus. So, what are the symptoms of human papillomavirus in women?

Nowadays, people have a stronger awareness of health care, but many people have only a superficial understanding of the relevant knowledge and sometimes fall into the misunderstanding of cancer fear. The cervical cancer that Ms. Zhang is afraid of is a common tumor among women. Among women, its incidence rate is second only to breast cancer, and the age of onset is tending to be younger. The occurrence of cervical cancer is closely related to human papillomavirus (HPV), and this virus can be detected in the bodies of the vast majority of cervical cancer patients. However, HPV virus infection does not necessarily mean that you will develop cervical cancer.

There are about 100 subtypes of HPV virus. According to the degree of pathogenicity or carcinogenic risk, HPV can be divided into two categories: low-risk and high-risk. Common low-risk HPV types are 6 and 11, which often cause genital warts after infection; common high-risk HPV types are 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, etc. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV may cause high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, etc.

Any sexually active woman may be infected with the HPV virus, and about 80% of women will be infected with this virus in their lifetime. However, being infected with HPV does not necessarily lead to cervical cancer, because every healthy woman has a certain degree of immunity. After being infected with HPV, the immune systems of most women can clear the HPV that enters the body. Only a few women are unable to eliminate the HPV that enters the body, resulting in persistent HPV infection, which may then cause cervical precancerous lesions. Some patients will further develop cervical cancer, and this process takes about 5 to 10 years. Therefore, do not be overly nervous when you find that your cervix is ​​infected with high-risk HPV virus. Go to a regular hospital for consultation in time. It is best to undergo further examination such as colposcopy to find out whether cervical precancerous lesions have occurred. At the same time, have regular check-ups to find out whether the virus is a transient infection or a persistent infection.