Genital warts are usually painless, but they can:

• be uncomfortable and itch
• become inflamed or bleed
• change the normal flow of your pee
• look unpleasant, which can be distressing.

If you don’t get warts treated, they may:

• eventually go away
• stay the same size
• grow larger in size or number

• HPV types 6 and 11 cause most cases of genital warts. They do not cause cancer of the anus or penis.
• HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68 can cause cell changes that may lead to cancer.

During sex, HPV is passed on:

• when someone’s skin touches another person’s warts (which you won’t see if they’re inside the rectum or vagina)
• through genital contact
• sharing sex toys
• (very rarely) through oral sex.

In extremely rare cases:

• a mother can pass HPV to her baby during birth 
• someone can pass on HPV through warts on their hands, by touching someone’s genitals.

Sometimes the virus is passed on without any warts being present.

Using an external or internal condom cuts the risk of passing on HPV – but only if the condom covers the skin where the wart virus is.

Other types of contraception, such as the contraceptive pill, offer no protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including genital warts.

The sooner you get genital warts treated, the easier it is to get rid of them.

A doctor has to treat them and you can’t use treatments meant for warts that grow on the hands.

Warts are treated by:

• putting on a special cream or acid, at a clinic or at home
• freezing with liquid nitrogen
• cutting with laser treatment or surgery under local anaesthetic in hard-to-treat cases.

It can take several treatments to get rid of warts and they might come back. Don’t have sex (oral, vaginal or anal) until treatment has finished or you could pass on the infection.

The more people you have sex with (especially unprotected sex), the bigger your chance of getting infections like genital warts.

As you can have them without knowing, regular check-ups are a good idea. This is especially the case if you are starting a new relationship or want to stop using condoms with your partner.

Most people get tested and treated for infections such as warts at at sexual health clinics or at an appointment with a dermatovenerologist, urologist, gynecologist. It’s free and confidential, so no one else will be told about your visit.

If you live with HIV

If diagnosed early, genital warts and human papillomavirus (HPV) are treatable, but the treatment may take a while.

If you take your HIV drugs as prescribed and your viral load is undetectable, you don’t need a special treatment regimen.

If you have immunosuppression, the genital warts outbreaks may be more severe and more complex to treat.

Some types of genital warts are linked with a greater risk of anal cancer, and it appears even greater if you live with HIV. Therefore, if you are 40 years or older, regular anal screening for HPV-related cancers is recommended. You may discuss such a check with your HIV specialist.

If you don’t live with HIV

If you have genital warts, you are more likely to get HIV than someone STI-free. This is because the same types of behaviour and conditions that may put you at risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection STI increase the risk of getting HIV. The presence of STI manifestations such as ulcers, sores, inflammation or broken skin caused by STI may allow HIV to enter your body more easily.