Yes. HPV spreads via skin-to-skin contact, primarily during sexual contact, even if a wart is not visible. HPV infections are most commonly found in the genital area, anus and mouth. An increasing number of oral and tonsillar cancers are caused by high-risk strains of HPV thought to be related to an increase in oral sex.
Because HPV is a virus, your immune system plays a role in whether your warts recur. In the majority of cases, the infection clears within two years. However, because the virus hides in lower-level tissue, it is impossible to know if the virus is gone or just suppressed to such a low level that it's hard to detect.
Yes. Studies have shown that condoms reduce the risk of HPV infections but are not completely protective. Condoms do not provide complete protection against HPV because they do not cover all the possible infection sites, which include the genital area, anus and mouth. This does not mean you should not use them. While condoms are not foolproof, they provide the best available protection, especially for those who have multiple sexual partners.
Yes. Having HPV increases the likelihood that a woman may have other sexually transmitted diseases or cervical cancer. Although only certain types of HPV cause cervical cancer, it is important that women of all ages have regular gynecologic exams and all the recommended screening tests. These tests include those that screen for chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV, if necessary. Talk with your health care professional about how often you should be tested.
HPV is not like other sexually transmitted diseases (such as chlamydia) that can affect your fertility. Of greater concern is that a high-risk HPV strain can lead to cervical cancer. In addition, certain HPV treatments may cause scarring or damage the cervix (such as LEEP or cone biopsy), which may impair fertility or impact a pregnancy (for example, increased risk of premature delivery), so it is important to discuss the options with your health care professional. These complications are not common and, if treatment is needed, it is important to have it.
There is no treatment for HPV. Treatment is for changes caused by HPV. Screening with Pap and HPV testing identifies women with precancerous cells and, rarely, cancer. Those abnormal changes are treated. Genital warts caused by HPV may be treated for cosmetic reasons and when warts obstruct the birth canal before a pregnant woman is close to delivery.
HPV is a group of more than 150 viruses, 40 of which can infect the genital area. HPV can take weeks, months or years to produce symptoms (if they appear at all). If your partner is diagnosed with HPV, it doesn't necessarily mean there has been infidelity. The most important thing you and your partner can do is to learn as much as possible about this disease. Most reproductive-age men and women have been infected with one or more types of HPV at some point, and most don't know it because not all viruses produce warts. In fact, genital warts are the least common problem caused by HPV. Furthermore, the immune system naturally fights off the virus and evidence of the virus goes away in one to two years.
Think of screening for HPV in much the same way you'd screen for cholesterol or other health risk factors: you want to determine what your risks are for having or developing the disease. For women with minor abnormalities on their Pap test, doctors use the HPV test to determine if they have a high-risk HPV infection and need further workup such as a colposcopy. Those who are not infected with high-risk strains of HPV need only regular Pap tests.
Still, it's important to ask your health care provider to regularly test you for sexually transmitted diseases if you're sexually active in a relationship in which you or your partner is also sexually active with others.
For information and support on coping with HPV, please see the recommended organizations, books and Spanish-language resources listed below.
American Cancer Society (ACS)
Website: https://www.cancer.org
Address: 250 Williams Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Hotline: 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345)
Phone: 404-315-1123
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Website: https://www.acog.org
Address: 409 12th Street, SW
P.O. Box 96920
Washington, DC 20090
Phone: 202-638-5577
Email: resources@acog.org
American Social Health Association (ASHA)
Website: https://www.ashasexualhealth.org/
Address: P.O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Hotline: 1-800-227-8922
Phone: 919-361-8400
Email: info@ashastd.org
ASHA's STI Resource Center Hotline
Website: https://www.ashasexualhealth.org/premium-services-2/
Address: American Social Health Association
P.O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Hotline: 1-800-227-8922
Phone: 919-361-8400
CDC National Prevention Information Network
Website: https://www.cdcnpin.org
Address: P.O. Box 6003
Rockville, MD 20849
Hotline: 1-800-458-5231
Phone: 404-679-3860
Email: info@cdcnpin.org
Guttmacher Institute
Website: https://www.guttmacher.org
Address: 1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Hotline: 1-877-823-0262
Phone: 202-296-4012
Email: info@guttmacher.org
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Website: https://www.nci.nih.gov
Address: NCI Public Inquiries Office
6116 Executive Boulevard, Room 3036A
Bethesda, MD 20892
Hotline: 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
Phone: TTY: 1-800-332-8615
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp
Address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
Hotline: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC)
Website: https://www.nccc-online.org
Address: 6520 Platt Ave., #693
West Hills, CA 91307
Hotline: 1-800-685-5531
Phone: 818-909-3849
Email: info@nccc-online.org
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)
Website: https://www.nfprha.org
Address: 1627 K Street, NW, 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-293-3114
Email: info@nfprha.org
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Website: https://www.plannedparenthood.org
Address: 434 West 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001
Hotline: 1-800-230-PLAN (1-800-230-7526)
Phone: 212-541-7800
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Website: https://www.preventcancer.org
Address: 1600 Duke Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
Hotline: 1-800-227-2732
Phone: 703-836-4412
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Website: https://www.siecus.org
Address: 90 John Street, Suite 704
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 212-819-9770
Books
Sexual Health: Questions You Have. Answers You Need
by Michael V. Reitano, Charles Ebel
Sex: What You Don't Know Can Kill You
by Joe S. McIlhaney, Marion McIlhaney
Spanish-language resources