Introduction
Despite the attempts to raise awareness about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or infections (STIs), as well as the strategies for their prevention, STIs remain a common and quite burning issue on the contemporary agenda of healthcare worldwide (Henry & Hann, 2015). According to the WHO data, more than 1,000,000 STIs is contracted “every day worldwide” (World Health Organization, 2017, para. 1).
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is typically referred to as the most common STIs in the world (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Since the symptoms of HPV are barely recognizable in a range of cases and that HPV leads to drastic outcomes, especially in women (e.g., the development of cervical cancer (Naik, Kumar, Joshi, & Bharti, 2016)), it is imperative that the target population should be educated about the issue with the help of modern media and social networks as the platforms for providing essential information and promoting healthy behavior among the target population.
Signs and Symptoms
HPV may manifest itself in the form of genital warts (Luo et al., 2015). Warts may be located in not only the genital area but also on one’s hands and feet, thus, making it difficult to pinpoint the actual problem and address healthcare experts immediately (Akhavan, Mousavi, Modaresgilani, & Alibakhshi, 2017). Furthermore, the color of the warts, which ranges from flesh-like to pink, makes the identification of the problem very difficult. The shape of the warts also varies from pimple-like to the one of cauliflower (Ramakrishna, Donoghue, Mamatha, & Anuradha, 2015). HPV is especially dangerous for women since it may lead to the development of cervical cancer, as well as other types of malignant tumors, such as penile and anus cancer (Asiedu et al., 2015).
Exam Findings
A physical examination may fail to lead to any conclusions because of the vague symptoms of HPV (Ramakrishna et al., 2015). Radiographic imaging may help resolve the problem for women (Corey & Hudgins, 2012). Nevertheless, detecting the issue is currently quite problematic.
Diagnostic Testing
At present, there are no tests for men that allow determining the instances of HPV in male patients (Stanley, O’Mahony, & Barton, 2014). Women, in turn, can use the Pap test (Ramakrishna et al., 2015). The latter was not designed to determine the presence of HPV and, therefore, does not point to the development of HPV directly. However, it helps monitor the changes in a woman’ cervix and, thus, point to the presence of HPV as one of the possible factors affecting it (Johnson et al., 2014).The procedure involves taking a swab test from the cervix (Johnson et al., 2014).
Evidence-Based Treatment
Genital warts can be removed in the hospital setting with the help of excision, i.e., surgery. Cryotherapy is also viewed as one of the possible methods of removing warts. It is also crucial to detect precancerous lesions with the help of cancer screenings (American Sexual Health Association, 2015).
Patient Education
Given the rates of HPV development, raising awareness about the issue of HPV is crucial. Therefore, healthcare services must offer extensive information about the signs and symptoms of HPV, as well as the means of preventing the problem (American Sexual Health Association, 2015). Particularly, the emphasis must be placed on explaining how the virus is spread, how HPV can be detected, and what one has to do in order to manage the problem (e.g., what experts to consult) (McKinnies et al., 2017).
Conclusion
Since patients with HPV may fail to identify any noticeable symptoms of the disease due to the specifics of its development, it is imperative to focus on raising awareness and preventing the problem by enhancing the significance of healthy behavior, promoting active knowledge acquisition, and reinforcing the use of vaccines as the tool for preventing the problem from developing. Thus, the target population can be shielded from contracting the disease. As soon as awareness levels increase among the community members, a step rise in health rates can be expected.
References
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