Genital warts are no laughing matter. You may remember seeing the slides of genital warts in your high school wellness class, but if you were like most students, you didn’t really pay that much attention. However, genital warts can be very painful and embarrassing.
Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection that are caused by several types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). They’re spread by physical contact, generally a form of sexual contact (genital, oral, or anal) with someone who is infected with genital warts. While some strains of HPV cause warts to appear right away, the two strains that are responsible for the vast majority of genital warts infections (strains 6 and 11) rarely result in warts. This means that you may have genital warts and never know it.
If you do develop genital warts, you’ll see small clusters around your genitalia. In women, genital warts may appear both inside and outside the vagina, on the cervix, or around the anus. Men may find warts on the tip and shaft of their penis, on their scrotum, and near their anus. It’s even possible to find genital warts in your mouth or throat after performing oral sex on an infected person, although this rarely occurs.
If you see any of these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor right away for treatment and the removal of the warts. However, warts can return after treatment because the HPV remains in your body.
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