How contagious are Genital Warts?

Genital warts are caused by HPV

Genital warts show up on the skin around your genitals and anus. They’re caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). You might’ve heard that some types of HPV can cause cancer, but they’re NOT the same kinds that give you genital warts.

HPV can be a tricky STD to understand. It’s the most common STD, but most of the time it goes away on its own. Sometimes certain types of “high-risk” HPV can develop into cancer if left untreated. Other “low-risk” types of HPV can cause warts on your vulva, vagina, cervix, rectum, anus, penis or scrotum. Genital warts are common — about 360,000 people get them each year.

How do you get genital warts?

You get genital warts from having skin-to-skin contact with someone who’s infected, often during vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Genital warts can be spread even if no one cums, and a penis doesn’t have to go inside a vagina or anus to get them. You can spread them even when you don’t have any visible warts or other symptoms, though that’s less common. You can also pass genital warts to a baby during vaginal childbirth, but that’s pretty rare.

Genital warts are different from warts you might get elsewhere on your body. So you can’t get genital warts by touching yourself (or a partner) with a wart that’s on your hand or foot.

You’re more likely to pass genital warts when you’re having symptoms. So if you notice a wart, it’s best to get tested and treated to help lower the risk of passing genital warts on to a partner.

What do they look like?

Genital warts look like skin-colored or whitish bumps that show up on your vulva, vagina, cervix, penis, scrotum, or anus. They kind of look like little pieces of cauliflower. You can have just one wart or a bunch of them, and they can be big or small. They might be itchy, but most of the time they don’t hurt.

Not all bumps on the genitals are warts. There are other infections and normal skin conditions that might look like a wart but are something else. If you think you have genital warts, it’s important to get checked out by a nurse or doctor.   

When do genital warts usually develop?

It can take several weeks, months, or even years after you have sexual contact with someone who has genital warts for them to show up. That’s why it’s so hard to know when you got the HPV infection that caused them, or who passed it to you. You can get the virus and never actually get warts, so you could be infected and not have any symptoms. Some people only get warts once, and then never get them again. Some people have warts develop more than once (recurring). If you get genital warts, you might think that means your partner has been cheating on you. That’s not necessarily true. It can sometimes take a really long time for warts to show up, so it’s possible that you or your partner might have gotten them a long time ago. Sometimes the virus lives months or even years in the body before turning into genital warts.

Fun fact: You can have the HPV type that causes warts and never have any symptoms yourself, but STILL give it to someone else. And then genital warts can show up on them. So knowing exactly when you got genital warts (and who gave them to you) is complicated. Talking with your partner and a doctor or nurse can help.

How do I avoid getting genital warts?

First thing, talk to your doctor about getting the HPV vaccine — most vaccine brands protect you against the types of HPV that cause most cases of genital warts. That’s the best way to avoid any HPV-related problems, including genital warts.

Genital warts are spread from sexual skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it — including vaginal, anal, and oral sex. So the only surefire way to avoid getting genital warts and other STDs is to not have any contact with another person’s mouth or genitals.

But most people have sex at some point in their lives, so knowing how to have safer sex is important. Using protection like condoms and dental dams when you have sex really helps to lower your risk of getting any STD.

You can also avoid sex with someone if you see warts on their genitals or anus, because that’s when they spread the most easily. But remember, it is possible to get them or spread them when there are no visible warts, so it's important to use condoms and dental dams even if everything looks totally OK.

And while there’s no genital warts test, getting tested for STDs at routine checkups with a doctor or nurse is a part of keeping yourself healthy.

How can I prevent spreading genital warts?

If you find out that you have genital warts, try not to freak out. There are a few ways that you can stop it from spreading to your partners.

• Encourage your partner to talk with a doctor or nurse about the HPV vaccine. Most brands can protect against some types of the virus that cause most cases of genital warts.

• Always use condoms and dental dams during oral, anal, and vaginal sex.

• Don’t have sex when you have visible warts, even with a condom. There may be warts on places the condom doesn’t cover.

• Stop smoking. If you smoke, you may have a bigger chance of getting warts than people who don’t smoke, and warts are more likely to come back if you smoke.

• Always tell your sexual partners that you have genital warts before you have sex, so you can work together to prevent them from spreading.

How do I talk to my partner about having genital warts?

Telling someone you have an STD can be hard, but genital warts are common and they don’t lead to serious health problems. So try not to be too embarrassed or stressed out about it.

There’s no one way to talk to a partner about having an STD, but here are some basic tips that may help:

• Keep calm and carry on. Lots of people have genital warts, and plenty of them are in relationships. For most couples, having genital warts isn’t a huge deal. Try to go into the conversation with a calm, positive attitude. Having genital warts is simply a health issue — it doesn’t say anything about you as a person.

• Make it a two-way conversation. Remember that STDs are super common, so who knows? Your partner might have genital warts, too. So start by asking if they’ve ever been tested or if they’ve had an STD before.

• Know your facts. There’s a lot of misinformation about STDs out there, so read up on the facts and be prepared to set the record straight. Let your partner know there are ways to avoid passing genital warts during sex. And you can also remind them that genital warts aren’t dangerous and don’t cause cancer or any other serious health problems.

• Think about the timing. Pick a time when you won’t be distracted or interrupted, and find a place to talk that’s private and relaxed. If you’re nervous, you can talk it through with a friend first, or practice by talking to yourself. It sounds silly, but saying the words out loud can help you know what you want to say and feel more confident when you talk to your partner.

• Safety first. If you’re afraid that your partner might hurt you, telling them in person might not be safe. You’re probably better off with an e-mail, text, or phone call — or in extreme cases, not telling them at all. Call 1-800-799-SAFE or check out the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help if you think you might be in danger.

So … when’s a good time to tell your partner about those genital warts? You might not need to bring it up the very first time you hang out, but you should let them know before you have sex. So when the relationship starts heading down that path and you feel like you can trust the person, that’s probably a good time.

It’s normal to be worried about how your partner’s going to react. And there’s no way around it: Some people might freak out. If that happens, try to stay calm and talk about all the ways there are to prevent spreading genital warts. You might just need to give your partner a little time and space to process the news, which is normal. And lots of people know that genital warts are common and not a big deal.

Try not to play the blame game when you talk to your partner. If one of you gets genital warts for the first time during the relationship, it doesn’t automatically mean that somebody cheated, or that one of you got them from the other. Warts can take weeks, months, or even longer to show up after you get the infection. So it’s usually really hard to tell when and where someone got them. The most important thing is that you both get checked out. If it turns out only one of you has genital warts, talk about how you can prevent passing them on. Tell your past partners too, so they can get checked out.