Does HPV Cause Genital Warts?

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a virus known as HPV or Human Papillomavirus. The most common way in which people get affected by HPV is by having oral, anal or vaginal sex with a partner who is already infected. HPV accounts for one of the major sexually transmitted diseases in the United States causing many complex problems. It needs to be noted that there are around 100 types of HPV and not all of them are harmful. Around 40 types of these viruses are known to causes major infections which result in the development of warts.

Warts are small bumps of mass that appear on the skin. When these warts appear on the genitals of men and women, they are known as genital warts and can sometimes resemble the shape of a cauliflower. Due to the HPV infection, warts are developed on the genitals indicating that the individual has been infected by the deadly virus. In men, the warts may appear on penis, scrotum or anus; while in women the warts can be seen on the vulva, vagina, on the cervix and anus.

The genital warts may vary in size and shape and sometimes they might be so small that they cannot be seen by a naked eye. The reason these genital warts are a scary sight is because not only they make your genitals look ugly but may also cause severe problems like cancer. The genital warts caused by HPV can cause the cancer of cervix in women and the cancer of penis in men. This will definitely restrict your sex life and if the cancerous growth is not operated early on may even lead to the death of an individual.

Therefore it is very important to stay away from HPV. And the best way to do it is by having safe sex which means – intercourse with a partner who is uninfected by HPV, using condom and avoiding multiple partners. Apart from following these guidelines, it is important to get yourself examined by a medical professional as sometimes the warts can be so small in size that they may go undetected by us.