Both men and women can carry one of the strains of HPV that results in genital warts, or worse still, cervical cancer, yet show no signs or symptoms whatsoever. Yet they can be pursuing an active sex life and unwittingly passing on the virus to one sexual partner after another.

In fact, the most prevalent strains of HPV that have been linked to cervical cancer are the least likely to show any symptoms for many years. Between 3000 and 4000 women die every year from cervical cancer, which is often treatable if caught in its early stages. Medical researchers believe that this number is so high because most women have no idea they have cervical cancer until it’s too late.

Remember that every time you have sex with a new partner, you are having sex with all the partners they had before you and all the partners those partners had…ad infinitum.

So before you swear off sex for the rest of your life, let’s look at some of the misunderstandings and myths surrounding HPV.

The Truth About HPV

• Around 250 individual strains of HPV have been identified, but only a few of them lead to the most problematic medical conditions – genital warts in both males and females and cervical cancer in females.
• Genital HPV is only transmitted by sexual contact, or in a very small number of cases, by oral sex with a partner who is already infected. You CAN’T catch HPV from a toilet seat or from sitting where someone else who has HPV has been sitting.
• If you discover you have genital warts, it doesn’t necessarily follow that your current sexual partner is the one who gave it to you. In most cases, the strains of HPV that cause genital warts can lie dormant in your system for many years before a breakout occurs.

A more realistic scenario is that you are the one who has unknowingly been passing on genital warts to your sexual partners while you’ve been blissfully unaware of its existence and at some future time they are going to blame their current partner for passing on the virus when, in fact, it was you.

• Contracting HPV does not mean you are promiscuous. You only need to have one sexual encounter to become infected with the virus. Obviously, the more you engage in frequent and unsafe sexual practices, the more likely you are to eventually come into contact with HPV or any one of a number of other sexually transmitted diseases.

So the logical solution is to always practice safe sex, particularly when you have a new sexual partner. Not only will a latex condom prevent you from the symptoms of HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases, it will help avoid unwanted pregnancy.

• Undergoing HPV treatment for genital warts is NOT a cure. Even if the warts have disappeared, you still carry the virus which means you can infect your sexual partner at any stage now or in the future.
• The HPV vaccine is believed to prevent all the recognized strains of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer in women. However, it doesn’t guarantee to prevent cervical cancer in girls or women who have been sexually active prior to being vaccinated.
• The jury is still out on whether uncircumcised men are more likely to carry the virus. While a number of studies have produced statistics which suggest the partners of uncircumcised men are at greater risk of contracting the strains of HPV which lead to cervical cancer, many medical researchers believe the statistics are flawed.

Every individual is at risk of being exposed to HPV and displaying HPV symptoms.  The most effective ways to protect yourself are by practicing safe sex and by knowing and understanding as much as possible about HPV, HPV symptoms and HPV treatments.

The human papilloma virus, also known as HPV, is actually a broad family of DNA based viruses and STDs. As of the time of this writing, about one hundred and thirty different types of HPV have been identified.

With so many different types of HPV out there, there are also several different kinds of symptoms. Below, we’ll try to list some of the more common signs and symptoms of various types of HPV:

Warts

Depending on the type of infection, different types of warts may appear on various parts of the body. Here are some of the HPV symptoms for the more common forms of HPV in men and women.

Common warts

Common warts are caused by cutaneous HPV types, such as HPV-1 and HPV-2. These common skin warts generally appear on the hands and feet, though they also appear on the elbows and knees. These warts are easily identifiable, with a cauliflower like surface. Contrary to popular misconception, cutaneous HPV types rarely cause genital warts. Luckily, cutaneous HPV do not come with any risk of serious cancer development.

Plantar warts

Plantar warts are similar to common warts, caused by cutaneous HPV types 1, 2, 4, and 63. Plantar warts are generally uncomfortable, growing inward on the soles of the feet, and sometimes causing pain. These infections attack through direct contact with the skin, usually through tiny cuts or abrasions in the outermost layer of the skin.

Subungual and periungual warts

These nasty buggers will form under the fingernail (subungual) or on the cuticle (periungual), and, because of their location, can be more difficult to treat than warts on other areas of the hands or feet. These are a symptom of cutaneous HPV types such as types 1 and 2.

Flat warts

Flat warts are easily spotted by their reddish brown colour. These warts are usually slightly raised and flat surfaced, and usually cover an area of 2 to 5 mm. These warts usually appear on the hands or face. These are a symptom of cutaneous HPV types.

HPV Genital warts

Genital warts, or venereal warts, are highly contagious and caused by genital HPV strains 6, 11, 30, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52 and 54. Infection can be transmitted sexually through skin contact during any form of sex with an infected partner, especially a high risk HPV partner (sorry, but if you don’t know their entire sexual history, and the sexual histories of everyone in their sexual history, consider them high risk).

About nine in ten genital warts cases are caused by HPV types 6 and 11, though most people who acquire either strain may never develop warts or any other symptoms of HPV. Genital HPV strains 16 and 18 may also lead to cervical cancer. It’s important to spot signs of HPV, STD, and genital warts early, for obvious reasons.

So what do genital warts look like?

Well, to spot them at their earliest stage of developments, just inspect yourself now and then for any irregularities in the skin on and around your genitals. At first, it might not look like much more than a tiny bump, but left untreated, it can develop into larger, unsightly tumours.

Male genital warts can also develop into cancer, though, luckily, male hpv affecting the genitals does not tend to.

Trouble breathing

One of the most unpleasant forms of HPV is luckily quite rare. Respiratory papillomatosis is a condition wherein warts form on parts of the respiratory tract. In extremely rare cases this may require repetitive surgery and may hinder one’s breathing. This is a symptom of HPV types 6 and 11 and, again, is luckily quite rare.

Most people will develop some form of cutaneous HPV or common warts during childhood. HPV can linger in an environment for quite awhile, allowing a contaminated surface to transmit the virus quite easily. It’s a good idea to avoid contact with such surfaces as communal showers to reduce the risk of cutaneous HPV infection, and to treat common warts immediately upon sighting.

Common warts can be treated quite easily with over the counter medication, but if you see the slightest signs of genital warts, you should see a doctor immediately. Plantar warts may also be better treated with help from a medical professional. Left untreated, genital infections can become quite severe, and often lead to cancer.

Many forms of HPV may actually show no symptoms, and for women, it is absolutely vital to undergo a routine pap smear from time to time. It may be uncomfortable, but it may also be life saving.