Chlamydia vs. Gonorrhea: Similarities and Differences
Genital Skin Tags Or HPV Warts: What's The Difference?
Genital skin tags and genital warts can look similar, but the causes and treatments of these conditions are distinct.
Genital skin tags and genital warts are two common skin conditions. They can be confused for one another because of where they develop and how they look.
Skin tags are common, harmless growths that often grow in areas where the skin folds, like your neck, eyelids, and groin. They are often oval or egg-shaped and attached to a fleshy stalk.
Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Genital warts typically look like lesions or bumps that are flat or slightly raised on the skin's surface. They usually feel rough or bumpy, and they may resemble cauliflower.
Like skin tags, genital warts aren't dangerous or cancerous, but they are a sign of an infection. Genital warts can go away on their own, but treatment can stop them from growing as well as stop any discomfort they may cause.
Keep reading to learn more about what these bumps look like, what causes them, and how they're treated.
While these two skin conditions look similar, there are a few distinct characteristics that can help you differentiate between the two.
What do genital skin tags look like?Skin tags are small, flesh-colored, hanging pieces of skin. They typically do not have any symptoms, such as pain or itching.
What do genital warts look like?Unlike skin tags, warts have a pearly, bumpy appearance and are usually found in areas where there has been sexual contact, such as the:
They may itch or feel irritated.
Both skin tags and genital warts can develop as a single bump, or they can grow in clusters. It's possible for additional tags or warts to appear in the same area over time.
These bumps are usually small, which may make identification harder, but there are clear visual differences between the two that may make it easier to recognize what you have.
Genital skin tagsGenital skin tags are soft tissue fibromas — or small, flesh-colored growths.
Skin tags are very common. They usually develop on your neck, under your armpits, or in between other folds of skin. They can also develop in your groin or on your genitalia.
Vaginal tags are less common. This is due to the moist nature of the vagina. Most tags are caused by friction, and the moist environment prevents this. Skin tags may still develop on the pubis or labia.
Genital wartsGenital warts are flat or slightly raised bumps on the surface of your skin.
Although these bumps are often mistaken for one another based on visual appearance, they're caused by entirely different things.
Genital skin tagsAlmost half of adults will develop at least one skin tag in their life, but skin tags have no known cause. Several factors can increase your risk for developing them.
The most common risk factors for genital skin tags include:
Unlike genital skin tags, doctors know exactly what causes genital warts: an infection of HPV. This is a type of STI, and it's highly contagious.
More than 100 types of HPV have been identified. Of those, only a few are responsible for genital warts.
HPV is very common. It's estimated that more than 80 percent of sexually active individuals will be infected during their lifetime. However, this may or may not be a wart-causing strain. If it is, it may be weeks or months before warts appear.
If you're not sure about the atypical growths on your genitals, it's a good idea to contact your doctor. If you suspect those skin spots are genital warts, or if you know you've been exposed to HPV, you should contact your doctor right away.
To make a diagnosis, your doctor will conduct a physical exam and look at the bumps or growths. They may perform an STI test. Your doctor may also order a biopsy.
For a biopsy, your doctor will remove one of the growths or bumps. They will freeze the area, which is often done in the office setting. They'll send the tissue to a laboratory, where it will be examined under a microscope. Your lab technician can usually make a diagnosis based on this visual assessment.
If the results are unclear, your doctor may order blood tests to identify other potential causes.
Genital skin tags and genital warts are treated differently.
Treating skin tagsMany times, skin tags do not need treatment. Unless they become irritated or cause you problems, most doctors will probably just leave them in place.
Treating genital wartsYou also do not have to treat genital warts, as many times they go away on their own. But treating them has some benefits, including:
If you do decide to treat your genital warts, your doctor will most likely prescribe medication like podofilox or imiquimod.
Removing skin tags or genital wartsIf you choose to completely remove genital skin tags or genital warts, your options are frequently the same. These treatments include:
It still isn't completely clear why or how skin tags develop, so there's often no way to prevent them from forming.
You can, however, try to prevent genital warts.
If you're sexually active, you can decrease your risk for HPV by using a condom or other barrier method. It's also important to disclose a history of genital warts to any sexual partner and avoid contact with new sexual partners until warts are successfully treated.
You can also get the HPV vaccine. The vaccine helps protect against the most common HPV strains, including strains that cause genital warts or increase your risk for cervical cancer.
Although the vaccine is primarily recommended for teens and young adults, you can still get the vaccine if you're over age 25. It may still have some protective benefit. Talk with your doctor to make an informed decision.
Treatments for both skin tags and genital warts are highly effective.
However, even with treatment, there's no guarantee that new skin tags won't develop.
If you're dealing with warts, treatment won't cure you of HPV. The virus will remain in your body, which means you may experience genital wart outbreaks in the future.
Neither genital skin tags nor genital warts are considered serious conditions, and the bumps aren't likely to become cancerous.
However, you should contact your doctor if you notice any atypical changes. This includes vulvar lesions (lesions on the outside of female genitals) that bleed, itch, or change in size, shape, or appearance. This can be a sign of a more serious condition, such as cancer.
Genital Warts Treatment
Generally, genital warts don't cause symptoms, but they might be painful, itchy, and unsightly. Luckily, there are a number of treatments that can help. For external warts, these treatments include:
Which treatment your doctor recommends depends on things like how many warts you have, where they are, how big they are, and your own treatment preference.
Options for gels, creams, and ointments are imiquimod cream, podofilox gel, and sinecatechins ointment.
Imiquimod is a cream you apply yourself to external warts to boost your immune system. You use imiquimod 5% cream at bedtime, three times a week until cleared or for 16 weeks. You put on imiquimod 3.75% cream every night until cleared or for 8 weeks maximum. With either strength, you should wash the treated area with soap and water 6 to 10 hours after you put it on. Avoid sex while imiquimod is on your skin because it can weaken condoms and diaphragms.
Podofilox and podophyllin resin are gels designed to kill the warts. After you apply them to an external wart, let the area air dry before you put on clothing. Podofilox isn't recommended for warts on the cervix, vagina, or anal canal. It isn't meant for large areas, either. If you use too much or don't let it air dry, you could spread the gel to other body parts and irritate your skin.
Sinecatechins ointment is made from green tea extract. You apply sinecatechins 15% ointment to warts three times a day for up to 16 weeks. Avoid all sexual contact while the ointment is on your skin.
If the warts are in a moist area or in a spot where skin rubs together, talk to your doctor before using a medicine that goes on your skin.
Do not use these medications If you're pregnant.
Your doctor can also freeze the warts off using liquid nitrogen and a cotton-tipped applicator or a special device called a cryoprobe. The cold is applied for 10-20 seconds. If you have a lot of warts or if they're large, your doctor may numb the area first with a local anesthetic.
This can get rid of all your warts in a single visit. After giving you a local anesthetic, the doctor can remove your warts using different methods. These include:
In most cases, you won't need stitches after surgery.
Your doctor can use trichloroacetic or bichloroacetic acid to treat the warts. They'll apply a small amount to the warts once a week and let it dry. This works best on small, moist warts and can be used to treat vaginal, cervical, and anal warts.
If you have vaginal or cervical warts, the recommended treatments are:
If you have warts in your urethra (the tube that carries urine from the kidneys to your bladder), your best treatment options are cryotherapy or surgical removal.
Genital warts may go away on their own, stay the same, grow, or spread. If you aren't treated, you could also get more or larger genital warts.
They can also be transmitted to others.
These are rare. They can include discoloring of the skin or scarring, especially if you haven't had enough time to heal between treatments.
Rarer still is severe, chronic pain. If you have anal warts, having a bowel movement might become painful. You could also get a condition called a fistula, a tunnel in your skin that leads from your anus to the outside. You'll need surgery to fix it.
How Do I Know If I Have Genital Warts?
Both men and women can get genital warts, but the symptoms might be different. Here is what you need to know.
In women, genital warts appear in and around the vagina , vulva, or anus, or on the cervix. They might be very small or appear as large clusters. They may be reddish in color or white. Sometimes, you can have genital warts but show no symptoms at all.
If you're a woman who's had unprotected sex, you'll want to have your doctor examine you. Testing for low-risk HPV -- the virus that causes genital warts -- isn't routinely done. Your doctor will have to examine you to see if you have warts to know for sure. Warts may appear months or years after sexual contact.
Sometimes, genital warts can form inside your vagina and be hard to spot. You could also have symptoms that look like genital warts but turn out to be something else.
In men, the warts may appear on the penis, scrotum, or around the anus. For men, there's no reliable test that can find the virus responsible for genital warts. You'll need to ask your doctor for an exam or get regular exams.
In both men and women, genital warts can also show up on the lips, mouth, tongue, and throat.
See your doctor right away if you or your partner develops bumps or warts in the genital area or if:
Your doctor will ask a number of questions, such as:
Your doctor will examine you or take a biopsy (a sample of the wart) to see if you have genital warts. They might draw a blood sample to test for HIV and syphilis. Depending on the results, they may also refer you to a specialist for further testing.
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