Many types of HPV are passed from one person to another during sexual relations. Several of these types cause genital warts. Genital warts usually appear on the inside and outside of the genital area. They may spread to other nearby areas of the body. You may get warts in your mouth if you have had oral sexual contact with an infected person.
Many times there are no symptoms.
Your health care provider will do a pelvic exam. Often HPV is discovered when a Pap smear is done. If the results of a Pap smear are abnormal, your health care provider may examine your vagina and cervix with a magnifying instrument called a colposcope. Your health care provider may then do a biopsy, removing a sample of tissue to examine under a microscope. This will help determine if HPV is the reason the Pap smear was abnormal.