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Navigate: FAQ Home Page > Genital skin concerns > HPV and warts
Posted on: 12/18/2007
Question
I am an 18 year old female and have been in a monogamous relationship for almost 5 months now. I just found out yesterday that I have HPV accompanied with genital warts. I told my boyfriend last night, and we are trying our best to work through this. Well, my boyfriend has a cluster of warts on his arm and occasionally he picks at them and causes them to bleed. Lately, I've had some tears around my vagina from being too rough during intercourse. I wanted to know if maybe I could have gotten genital warts from the warts on his arm if he picked at his warts then fingered me with the same hand? Is this possible? Please help!
Answer
Warts are caused by Human Papilloma Virus HPV. There are many different strains. There are certain strains that are oncogenic (cancer causing) and are implicated in cervical and anal cancers. There are numerous other strains that can cause genital warts. There is a possibility that warts on the hands could spread to the genitals especially if irritated.