There are not many visible symptoms of HPV because the virus causes changes on the cell level that often cannot be seen or felt. Genital warts, condylomata acuminata, are the most common visible symptom and are a clear indicator of genital HPV infection. Genital warts can be caused by strains 6, 11, 30, 42-45, 51, 52, and 54 with strains 6 and 11 accounting for 90% of genital wart cases. Genital warts can vary in size, amount, location, and appearance. Women generally present genital warts on the outside or inside of the vagina, on the cervix, and around the anus. Men most commonly find warts on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. In rare cases genital warts may also appear in the throat or mouth of a person who has had oral sex with an infected partner. The virus is able to permeate the skin and mucous membranes through small abrasions that occur during sex. Once the virus has infected the cells it is possible that it may lay dormant and never show any symptoms at all. During this time it is still possible to pass on genital HPV. Generally symptoms appear a few weeks or months after contact with an infected person, or they may never appear at all. Many people do not know they are infected with HPV, allowing for the rapid spread of the virus and making it increasingly difficult to ascertain the source of the infection. Genital warts, however, will not develop into cancerous lesions. Most adults with a healthy immune system will clear the infection without developing any symptoms.
Other strains of HPV can cause common warts, plantar warts, subungual or periungual warts, and flat warts. Common warts are generally found on the hands, feet, knees and elbows and are characteristically cauliflower-like. Plantar warts form on the soles of the feet and grow inward, resulting in pain when walking. Subungual warts form under the fingernail and periungual warts form around the cuticle area. Generally they are more difficult to...