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Can You Get Genital Warts From Regular Warts?

Warts are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 different strains (types) of warts. Different strains cause different types of warts. Strains that cause common warts, plantar warts, or flat warts don’t cause genital warts and vice versa.

  1. Transmission

    • HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact with someone who has HPV.

    Genital Warts

    • Genital warts are transmitted by skin-to-skin genital contact with someone who has genital warts. Many people with HPV have no symptoms, so it is possible to contract HPV from someone with no visible warts.

    Other Warts

    • According to the American Academy of Dermatology, common warts appear on the fingers and hands, plantar warts are usually found on the soles of the feet, and flat warts occur most commonly on children's faces, men's beard areas, and women's legs. These types of warts cannot cause genital warts.

    Strains

    • Genital warts are most often caused by HPV strains 6 and 11. The American Academy of Dermatology cites HPV-1, HPV-2, and HPV-3 as the cause of warts on the hands, feet, and other parts of the body. HPV-1, 2, and 3 do not cause genital warts.

    Prevention

    • The best way to protect yourself against genital warts is to abstain from all skin-to-skin genital contact. If you are sexually active you can reduce your risk of infection by using latex, nitrile, or polyurethane condoms. A vaccine is also available for children and adults ages 9 to 26.

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