Cases of anal warts increasing in young men
The Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STIs Control Programme, Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo, has expressed concern over the growing number of young people who are getting infected with anal warts.
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In an interview, Dr Ayisi Addo explained that warts were usually found around the male penis and the external part of the female genitalia and stressed that there is an increase in the number of young males who are having sex with other men, which is the reason why quite a number of them have been infected with anal warts.
According to Dr Ayisi Addo, genital warts, which is a sexually transmitted disease (STD), is an abnormal growth that appears around the external parts of the male and female genitalia. The growth may resemble a cauliflower. In anal warts, the growth develops around different parts of the anus and when it becomes bigger it could cover the opening of the anus.
Dr Ayisi Addo explained that young men could be infected with anal warts more than women because they were increasingly engaging in unprotected sex.
He indicated that managing anal warts was not easy as it might sometimes require surgery to remove them which is quiet expensive.
“Once you are operated upon, the affected area becomes constricted with scars. As a result of the delicate nature of the affected part, the skin can easily break during sex and if that happens and your sexual partner has HIV or AIDS, you can easily get infected too. Besides, if the warts are removed, they can re-appear,” he added.
The Programme Manager asked young people to be cautious about engaging in anything they know deviates from the norm as such actions often have various challenges.
He also advised them to stay away from unprotected sex.
“Young people should avoid risky behaviours in order to avoid conditions like this. Life goes beyond just having sex. You shouldn’t be experimenting with sex and think that the experimentation on its own is free from consequences. Remember, everything you do in this world has a consequence,” he admonished.