Genital Warts

Genital warts (also referred to as Condyloma, Condylomata acuminata, or venereal warts) are a contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by the human papilloma virus otherwise known as HPV. They are spread through sexual skin-to-skin contact with an infected partner. HPV is one of the common sexually transmitted diseases with estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services reporting approximately 5.5 million new cases of HPV in the U.S. each year. At least 20 million Americans are infected with HPV right now. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) state that nearly 50% of the women infected with HPV did not know they had it because there were no obvious symptoms. Consequently, this is what causes rise to the contraction of HPV. Once a person is infected it can take up to three months for a breakout to occur. In the meantime, they can be spreading the disease to all their sexual partners. It's important to know that just because you have no obvious symptoms does not mean you cannot infect others.