Lately I have been worrying about getting infected with genital warts and/or genital herpes. Once you are infected the virus does not leave your body and I think I would feel guilty of passing the virus to other people. For the record I am not infected however I feel somewhat afraid to have sex and worry about being infected. I would like to know how other people deal with this also if anybody has experience with the vaccin you can get for genital warts. I discussed the genital warts with my doctor but she didn't know that much about it.

Only the warts are contagious, without warts…  :an2:

Even if we do not know why penile papules grow, they aren’t harmful in any way.

Genital warts are caused by HPV

| Disease | HPV type |
| Common warts | 2, 7, 22 |
| Plantar warts | 1, 2, 4, 63 |
| Flat warts | 3, 10, 8 |
| Anogenital warts | 6, 11, 42, 44 and others |
| Anal dysplasia (lesions) | 6, 16, 18, 31, 53, 58 |
| Genital cancers | Highest risk: 16, 18, 31, 45
Other high-risk: 33, 35, 39, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59
Probably high-risk: 26, 53, 66, 68, 73, 82 |
| Epidermodysplasia verruciformis | more than 15 types |
| Focal epithelial hyperplasia (mouth) | 13, 32 |
| Mouth papillomas | 6, 7, 11, 16, 32 |
| Oropharyngeal cancer | 16 |
| Verrucous cyst | 60 |
| Laryngeal papillomatosis | 6, 11 |

Do not freak out:

• 90% of genital warts cases are caused by type 6 & 11 (not cancerous, the only real thing to worry about)
• 99% of all sexually active men and women have, had, will have the virus
• if you have not noticed anything is because your immune system has cleared the virus
    in a matter of months without developing any symptom

What to do:

• (protect yourself) avoid sex with someone with warts
• (protect the others) do not play dirty, avoid sex if you have warts

When to worry ?

• if the warts do not disappear in a reasonable amount of time (3/4 months)
• if you are immunosuppressed (HIV/AIDS, cyclosporine treatment, …)

What to do now ?
Ask your doctor, you should be probably treated with a biopsy to identify the virus and with a drug/chemical/physical/termal removal.

If you hook up always ask if they are clean and inspect their genitals just in case.

Nothing worse than catching a viral STI because they are not curable.

I have friends that hook up or who have NSA sex and they told me how they go as far as giving oral sex with condoms or getting oral sex with a condom on, just kissing and masturbating the other men and if they are into rimming they use dental dams.