Where Genital Warts Occur

Genital warts are caused by a virus HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV is caught during sexual contact with someone who is already infected with it. If you develop genital warts, try not to feel too upset remember they are very common and lots of people have them, they are not dangerous and there are many effective ways of treating them.
You may feel angry with the person you think you caught them from. But in fact that person may not know that he or she had HPV for the following two reasons.
Some people carry HPV, but do not have any warts. In fact 15–40% of people under 40 are carriers of HPV, though it is less common in older people. In most people who carry HPV, it goes away in a year or two.
A man may not know that he has a wart, because it can be hidden inside the urethral opening (pee hole). Similarly, a woman can have a wart on the cervix (that is, deep inside the vagina) that she does not know about.
Where genital warts occur
In women, genital warts usually occur around the opening of the vagina (vulva), but they may occur in the folds of skin alongside the vaginal opening, or between the vagina and the anus, and around the anal opening. The figures (Archives of Dermatology1984;120:472) are as follows:
around the opening of the vagina (vulva) – 66%
in the vagina – 37%
between the vagina and anus – 29%
around the anus – 23%
on the cervix (neck of womb) – 8%
at the opening of the urethra (where the urine comes out) – 4%.
In men, genital warts often occur just under the foreskin, but can be anywhere on the penis, on the scrotum, in the groin or around the anus. The figures (Archives of Dermatology 1984;120:472) are as follows:
on the shaft of the penis – 51%
around the anus – 34%
on the glans (head of the penis) – 10%
inside the hole (opening of the urethra) – 10%
under the foreskin – 8%
between the anus and scrotum – 3%

on the scrotum – 1%.