Is it possible to just have one genital wart

This could be from sexual activity, picking, or wearing tight clothing. If you have genital warts inside your vagina, urethra, or anus, you may experience some burning or pain when urinating. Both are common STIs that cause genital lesions, but herpes causes sores, not warts. Genital warts are caused by HPV. You can get the virus that causes genital warts through skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the virus. Most people get it through sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

HPV and genital warts can be transmitted even if the person with the virus has no symptoms of an infection. Warts may take one to three months to appear once a person has been exposed to the virus. Most genital warts disappear without treatment within 9 to 12 months. If they cause pain or itching, talk to your healthcare provider about removal options. Genital warts can come back, so you may need to see your doctor for treatment again in the future.

Resist the temptation to remove warts yourself using over-the-counter wart remedies. Most people get HPV or genital warts from having intercourse, but you can also get them from skin-to-skin contact during non-penetrative sex or from sharing sex toys.

They can examine your skin more closely and make a diagnosis. Can Pap tests detect HPV warts? Pap tests detect abnormalities in cervical cells that may be cancerous or precancerous.

A newer HPV test detects the presence of the virus in cervical cells. You want to have them professionally diagnosed. They can look soft and fleshy, almost like a skin tag , or they can be rock-hard and large with branches like a cauliflower.

When you feel a bump, especially around the opening of the vagina, or behind the vagina, see your doctor. But the HPV warts that are really hard to treat have been there for months and have hardened. Most women will get the HPV virus and their body can handle it. But women with persistent HPV infections are the ones we want to identify. I want to see a young woman three or four years after her first sexual encounter to see if her body can handle the virus.

Is she having persistent infections, which could be a predictor of cervical cancer? Those are the women we want to find, so we can treat any precancers. When a woman has visible HPV warts, should she stop having sex? Once you have HPV warts, are you always contagious? You spread more viral particles when you have a concentration of warts. Get rid of the warts. We can treat fresh warts with easy topical therapies.

There are three creams your doctor can prescribe for external genital warts that can be applied at home. It's hard to know when people are no longer contagious, because there's no blood test that looks for HPV. Genital warts and other types of HPV can be prevented by a vaccine. The HPV vaccine series is recommended for all kids when they're 9—11 years old. Older teens and adults also can get the vaccine up to age HPV almost always spreads through sex.

So the best way to prevent it is to not have sex vaginal, oral, or anal. If someone does decide to have sex, using a condom every time for sex vaginal, oral, anal helps prevent HPV and other STDs.

Someone diagnosed with genital warts should have an honest conversation with sexual partners. Partners need to be seen by a health care provider who can check for genital warts and do screenings for other STDs. Reviewed by: Christina M. Shultz, MD and Taina A. Trevino, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Are Genital Warts?

What Causes Genital Warts? For safety, a doctor will apply the topical medicines that could damage the skin around the warts. You can apply other medicines at home.

If warts return after one course of treatment with topical medicine, they are treated again only if there are clear reasons for retreatment. Medicines are not used to treat abnormal cell changes found on a Pap test. Imiquimod and podofilox are typically the most effective medicine options that can be applied at home.

Read the instructions carefully before using these medicines. Treatment for pregnant women includes trichloroacetic acid TCA , cryotherapy, laser therapy, loop electrosurgical excision procedure LEEP , and surgical removal by electrocautery or excision. Warts on the vulva or penis that do not go away on their own or after treatment often are biopsied to rule out precancerous or cancerous conditions.

Removing genital warts does not cure an HPV infection. Warts may go away with topical treatment, but they may return, because HPV may still be in the body's cells.

You may have surgery to remove genital warts if they are widespread and medicine or freezing cryotherapy fails to remove them. If you have a high-risk type of HPV that causes an abnormal Pap test, your doctor may recommend certain types of surgery. For more information about surgical methods to treat abnormal cell changes, see the topic Abnormal Pap Test. Surgical choices for pregnant women with genital warts include electrocautery, surgical excision, loop electrosurgical excision LEEP , and laser surgery.

The success of surgery is related to the number of warts present. The success rate is higher and additional treatments are less likely to be required when surgery is done on fewer and smaller warts. But surgery is less likely to be needed for a few small areas of warts. Kiley MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.

Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Updated visitor guidelines. Top of the page. Genital Warts Human Papillomavirus. Topic Overview Is this topic for you? If you are looking for information about cervical cell changes or cervical cancer, see: Abnormal Pap Test. Cervical Cancer. What is human papillomavirus HPV? What are genital warts? What causes HPV and genital warts? What are the symptoms? How are HPV and genital warts diagnosed?

Sometimes the doctor takes a sample of tissue from the wart for testing. How are they treated? There is no cure for HPV, but the symptoms can be treated. Can HPV and genital warts be prevented? Use latex condoms.

Latex condoms may help reduce the risk of spreading genital warts, but they do not protect the entire genital area against skin-to-skin contact. Before you have sex with someone, talk to them about STIs.

Find out whether he or she is at risk for them. Remember that a person can be infected without knowing it. If you have symptoms of an STI, don't have sex. Do not have sex with anyone who has symptoms or who may have been exposed to an STI. Having several sex partners increases your risk for infection.

Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health. Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.

Cause HPV infection is caused by a virus. How the infection is spread transmission HPV is spread by direct contact. The virus can be spread to or from the genitals, anus, mouth, or throat during sexual activities. But warts in the mouth or throat are extremely rare. Latex condoms can lower your risk of getting genital warts.

After the infection occurs, it may spread to other areas of the genitals or to the anal area. You can spread the virus even if you do not have any symptoms of infection or any visible warts. There is a small chance that a pregnant woman can pass the virus to her baby. Children can get genital warts from sexual abuse.

Symptoms Human papillomavirus HPV infection Infection with the human papillomavirus HPV usually does not cause any symptoms and does not always produce visible genital warts. Symptoms that may occur with genital warts include: Irritation.

Genital warts Genital warts can be different sizes and shapes. They may be large, or they may be too small to be seen with the naked eye. They may appear individually or in groups. Warts may look like tiny bunches of cauliflower or like flat, white areas that are very difficult to see.

In women and men, warts may appear in the groin, on and around the genitals, in the urethra , or in the rectum or anus. In women : Genital warts may appear around the anus or on the vulva , vagina, or cervix. Women are often unaware of warts inside the vagina or on the cervix until a doctor finds them. In men : Genital warts may occur on the outside of the penis, on the scrotum , or around the anus. Men are often unaware they have genital warts, even when they can be seen, until the warts are identified by a doctor.

Symptoms of genital warts may be similar to those of other conditions. Common HPV types 6 and 11 produce visible warts. These warts may go away on their own, stay the same, or increase in number. Other HPV types, such as 16 and 18, do not produce visible genital warts. These types, which may be found with a Pap test , are linked to precancerous cervical cell changes and cervical cancer. HPV infection and cervical cell changes In women, most precancerous or cancerous cell changes associated with HPV infection occur on the cervix.

HPV infection and anal and penile cancer Among people who receive anal sex, HPV infection of the anal canal is associated with an increased risk of anal cancer. HPV infection during pregnancy The presence of HPV and abnormal cell changes does not affect the outcome of the pregnancy.

What Increases Your Risk Things that increase a person's risk for getting a sexually transmitted infection, such as HPV and genital warts, include: Having multiple sex partners. Having high-risk partner s partner has multiple sex partners or HPV-infected sex partners. Having unprotected sexual contact not using latex condoms.

Having an impaired immune system. When should you call your doctor? Call your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: Sores, bumps, rashes, blisters, or warts on or around your genitals or anus Burning, pain, or severe itching while urinating For women , an abnormal vaginal discharge that smells bad For men , an abnormal discharge from your penis Call your doctor if you suspect you have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection STI.