· Ask your partner if he or she ever had genital warts or an STD.
· Look at your partner's genitals to see if he or she has any bumps.
But life is not so simple:
· Some people lie about their past sex life or history of STDs.
· Some people cheat on their partner.
· A girl can have tiny warts at the entrance to her vagina, inside her vagina, or on her cervix that she doesn't know about.
· Guys and girls can have silent HPV infection.
· People may be too embarrassed or afraid to mention their HPV secret.
· Someone thinks the warts he or she got treated years ago don't matter anymore -- but that person could still be contagious.
Here's how you can cut down on your risks of getting HPV and genital warts:
· Don't start having sex too young. An earlier age of first sex increases your risk of getting HPV.
· Don't have multiple sex partners. The risk of genital HPV infection increase with the number of sex partners.
· Use condoms. Condoms help prevent HPV from getting onto you.
Reality Check: Even if you always use condoms during sex, you could still pick up HPV from an infected partner. That's because a condom only covers the head and shaft of the penis. The base of the penis, the scrotum and the rest of the genital skin are still exposed. STDs like genital warts, herpes, molluscum, crabs and syphilis can spread to and from that unprotected skin.
You should also:
· Know your partner well.
· Talk with your partner about sexual health issues.
· Know that it's possible to get mouth warts from performing oral sex on someone with genital warts. Using a dental dam (a latex barrier placed over the vagina) or a wearing a non-lubricated condom during oral sex can cut down on that risk.
· Schedule regular check-ups and STD tests for you and your partner.
· Know that a vaccine is being tested to help prevent HPV infection.
What If I Already Have Genital Warts?
Then know that:
