Can common warts appear on the Genitals?

Question

I have a plantar wart, that i assume i received from walking barefoot through a locker room, or more likely, through the showers in my dormitory. i recently received a wart on the base of my penis - is it normal for common warts to appear on other parts of the body? i am not sexually active, but is it possible to pick up the std strain of hpv from a dirty shower floor?

thanks in advance for anyone who can help

Answer 1

No, the presence of plantar warts will not cause warts to appear on the genitals.

HPV usually refers to genital warts, but actually all human papilloma viruses cause warts or some kind of epithelial growth abnormalities (like cancers!). It's just that there are HUNDREDS of HPV strains, and they prefer to thrive on different sites.

It is possible to carry multiple HPV strains. So if you have genital warts (that wart on your penis!) AND plantar warts, you are carrying different strains of HPV at each site.

Get the wart examined and removed by a doctor. Genital warts can be removed, but they're not curable, so you will need to inform future partners of the possibility of transmission. Using a condom helps, but it's not 100% because the condom can't cover all the skin where the virus is being shed. Still, some protection is way better than none.