Warts: HPV Symptoms for Men and Women

Many people have the human papillomavirus (or HPV) and don’t even realize that they have it because they mistakenly attribute the symptoms to another health issue.

One of the reasons that these symptoms are so often overlooked is because there are variations in this virus.

The type that you have will determine whether or not you have symptoms.

It’s one of the most common viruses that you can get and it’s passed from person to person through sexual contact.

In fact, people who have multiple sex partners are at a greater risk of contracting HPV.

Even if you only have one sex partner, but your partner has had multiple partners, then you have a higher chance of contracting the condition.

Some people believe that having protected sex means they won’t get the virus, but it’s spread by skin to skin contact as well as through bodily fluids.

The virus can be transmitted through any type of sex - even if you use a condom.

However, using condoms does decrease your risk of getting the virus from body fluid contact.

One of the first signs in men that they have HPV is genital warts.

These warts can range from having a flat appearance and be flesh colored to redder looking warts.

You may also experience warts that look like they have multiple bumps on the wart.

This is usually referred to as cauliflower warts.

The warts can appear on the side of the penis, around the base of the penis and around the top as well as on the testicles.

If a woman gets the virus, she may also develop genital warts, but the location of the warts are usually not on the outside of the vagina but show up instead on the vulva.

For those who practice anal sex, if you come in contact with an infected person, you can develop these warts around the anal area.

Regardless of the location of the these warts, they might cause itchy, but sometimes they don’t - which is why they often go unnoticed if they’re small.

HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted viruses and what normally happens is that some people get it and don’t even know because the body’s immune system fights it off.

If you have HPV and it shows up through warts, then you should know that you can develop some types of cancer due to the condition.

For women, this cancer is cervical cancer.

For men the cancer usually shows up on the penis, around the anus or the bottom of the tongue.

This is why it’s so important that if you have any type of wart you get it checked out to determine the root cause.

Related Reading: What are Warts - Online health guide