What Patients Should Know When They Are Diagnosed with Genital Warts

What Patients Should Know When They Are Diagnosed with Genital Warts   lGenitalwartsarecausedbyaviruscalledgenitalhumanpapillomavirus(HPV), whichisverycommoninsexuallyactivemenandwomen.   lHPVispassedonthroughgenitalcontact,mostoftenduringvaginaland analsex.  MostsexuallyactivepeoplewillgetHPVatsometimeintheirlives,thoughmost l willneverknowitbecauseHPVusuallyhasnosignsorsymptoms.  Thereareabout40typesofgenitalHPV.Inmostcases,HPVgoesawayonits l own,withoutcausinganyhealthproblems.Itisthoughtthattheimmunesystem fightsoffHPVinfectionnaturally. causegenitalwarts.OtherHPVtypescancausecervicalcancerandotherless commongenitalcancers.ThetypesofHPVthatcausegenitalwartsaredifferent fromthetypesthatcancausecancer.  Butsometimes,HPVdoesnotgoawayonitsown.SomeHPVtypescan l  ThereisnotreatmentforHPV(avirus),buttherearetreatmentsforthe l conditionsitcancause,includinggenitalwarts. thefirstthreemonthsaftertreatment.  Itiscommonforgenitalwartstorecur(comebackaftertreatment),especiallyin l    lTreatinggenitalwartswillnotnecessarilyloweryourriskofpassingHPVtoa sexpartner.Youcanstillpassthevirusontosexpartners,evenafterthewarts aretreated.Itisnotknownhowlongapersonremainscontagiousafterwarts aretreated. insizeornumber.Genitalwartswillnotturnintocancerovertime,evenifthey arenottreated.  Ifyoudon’ttreatgenitalwarts,theymaygoaway,remainunchanged,orgrow l  Thereisaverylowriskthatapregnantwomanwithgenitalwartscanpass l HPVtoherbaby.IntherarecaseswhereHPVispassed,thebabycould developwartsinthethroatorvoicebox.Cesareanbirthsdonotseemto preventamotherfrompassingHPVtoherbaby.  Allwomenwhohaveeverbeensexuallyactive,includingthosewithgenital l warts,shouldgetregularPapteststoscreenforcervicalcancer.Thisisbecause apersoncanbeinfectedwithmorethanoneHPVtype.  Ifyouhavegenitalwarts,youmaybenefitfromscreeningforothersexually l transmittedinfections(STIs).  Ifyouhavequestions,pleasewritethemdownandaskaboutthemduringyournext       doctor’svisit.Youcanalsocall:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1-800-CDC-INFO(1-800-232-4636);1-888-232-6348TTY OperatorscanansweryourquestionsinEnglishorSpanish24hoursaday, 7daysaweek. What Patients Should Know When They Are Diagnosed with Genital Warts—for Themselves and Their Partner(s) lYouandyourpartnermaybenefitfromtalkingopenlyaboutyoursexualhealth  andHPV. lYouandyourpartnershouldknowthat: ThereisnosurewaytoknowwhenyougotHPVorwhogaveittoyou.  Genitalwartscanbetransmittedbyapersonwithoutvisiblesignsof  warts.Theymayappearweeks,months,oryearsafterexposure,or  theymayneverappear. PartnerswhohavebeentogetherforawhiletendtoshareHPV.              ThismeansthatyourpartnerlikelyhasHPValready,eventhough yourpartnermayhavenosignsorsymptoms.Itisnotclearwhy somepeoplewithwart-causingtypesofHPVdevelopgenitalwarts andothersdonot.    Condomsmayloweryourriskofpassinggenitalwartsontoyoursex  partner(s),ifusedallthetimeandtherightway.ButHPVcaninfect  genitalareasthatarenotprotectedbyacondom,socondomsmay  notfullyprotectagainstHPV. lYourcurrentpartnermaybenefitfromseeingahealthprofessionalfor  counselingandgettingcheckedforgenitalwartsandotherSTIs.  lItisnotclearifthereisanyhealthbenefittotellingfuturesexpartnersabouta  pastdiagnosisofgenitalwarts(oncewartsaretreated).That’sbecauseitisnot  knowniforhowlongyouwouldremaincontagiousaftertreatment. lWaystoloweryourchancesofgettingfutureHPVinfectionsinclude: Usingcondomsallthetimeandtherightway.Condomsmayalso  loweryourchancesofdevelopingotherHPV-relateddiseases(cervical  cancerinwomen).ButHPVcaninfectareasthatarenotcoveredby  acondom—socondomsmaynotfullyprotectyouagainstHPV. Beinginamutuallyfaithfulrelationshipwithsomeonewhohashadno  orfewothersexpartners. Limitingyournumberofsexpartnersandchoosingpartnerswhohave        hadfewsexpartners. Abstainingfromsexualcontactistheonlysurewaytopreventfuture  HPVinfections.