HPV for Everyone (PART 1)(Content Warning: Medical Images)

What You Were Not Taught (*WARNING: MEDICAL IMAGES)

Apr 24, 2026

assorted contraseptive lot — Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

Parents, I bet no one has told you that birth control makes HPV more contagious. Didn’t know that, did you? Let’s talk about sex. This is not for parents alone. All human beings should want to know what I will share in this article and in the parts that follow. If you don’t identify as human, then this will not affect you. Unicorns are immune, too.

HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer in women. Sometimes, the virus can also cause vaginal, vulvar, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. In men, it can cause penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Oropharyngeal cancers involve the back of the throat, the tongue, and the tonsils. Not scared yet? Keep reading.

There are more than 200 types of HPV strains. Sexually transmitted HPV spreads through skin-to-skin contact and via mucosal surfaces. Mucosal surfaces are soft, moist tissues where the inner body meets the outer body. This category includes the mouth, throat, vagina, cervix, penis, scrotum, perineum, anus, rectum, the inside of the nose, and even the undersides of the eyelids. Mucus is the primary avenue of transmission, whereas sweat is not, even though it can be present on the skin. There is no evidence that sweat can transmit this virus.

Although HPV shares similarities with herpes, people should not confuse them. Sores, most commonly mouth sores, characterize herpes, which we have known about for decades. Sores are essentially open ulcers, often accompanied by pain. Not all herpes is sexually transmitted. Mouth sores, chickenpox, and measles are all considered herpes viruses but are not sexually transmitted. Some strains of herpes are sexually transmitted, however.

Like herpes, HPV can be transmitted both sexually and non-sexually. The signs of the virus, much like herpes, can include visible symptoms. HPV can also present with external visual clues. Both can have physical symptoms that are not visible or detected by the person affected or anyone else. The fact that they can be hidden or not even seen at all is the danger area.

HPV does not cause sores. Instead, the virus causes warts. These warts can appear on the hands, feet, arms, or face. Researchers have labeled those strains HPV1, 2, 3, 4, 10, and 28, along with countless others.

Out of the 200 types of HPV, there are 40, you are reading that right, 40 different strains of the sexually transmitted disease. They include HPV16, 18, 32, 33, 45, 52, and 58 to start with. These are the highest-risk varieties. There will not be enough time to get into each one individually. I’ll lose most of you after this part of the series.

Warts are bumpy and rough on the skin, like plantar warts and the ones you get on your hands, which your parents told you came from toads. They are raised above the surface, have a cauliflower-like appearance, and are neither open nor painful. Warts are extra skin cells, not ulcerated like a cut or blister that breaks open. Again, sores are open, painful, and raw.

When a person has the Human Papillomavirus, these warts often appear. They are not always visible. Since you don’t inspect your partner’s inner mouth or throat, their cervix, vagina, and other sex organs before sex, and most likely after, you may never even know you have come in contact with someone who has the STD.

Women, you are not off the hook. Since women these days are more promiscuous than ever, you too can contract the virus without even knowing. While it is far easier for us to inspect the male genitalia before and during intercourse, it is not foolproof. Most of us don’t even know what we are looking for, or have a clear idea of what it will look like. That image in your head may be completely wrong. They don’t all look the same.

Ask yourself, did I give my last lover the once-over and inspect every part of their body before I went all the way into the abyss? If you didn’t, I have a roulette table for you. Would you even have known what to look for? I hope that, at the very least, you have a clear image today of what it looks like when you are about to pull the trigger on sex.

Look, I know it is not romantic to ask to look at your partner’s perineum before sex, or to ask the person to spread them. But these days, it is imperative. The days of picking up at a bar or club have come and gone. It is a gamble at best, a life sentence at worst.

HPV is not curable. Although the prophylactic shot can prevent the virus and the cancers it may cause, it is not the best choice. The only sure-fire way to avoid HPV is to not have sex. That being said, if you are going to have sex, no matter what anyone says, using a condom will not protect you at all. The same is true for both sexes, or all sexes these days. If you identify as anything other than human, but your DNA is human, you are still in this pool.

Part two will cover birth control and HPV. It is shocking and mind-blowing. What they told you in sex ed is not the whole story.

Below are images showing the different appearances of HPV warts on various parts of the body.

STOP now if you cannot handle medical photographs. They are not pretty.

***WARNING: The images are graphic and show actual parts of the body where warts will appear. They are accurate images of what to look for. If you notice anything like the images below, do not self-diagnose. Go to your doctor and have them check. You do not have a medical degree. They do. That’s what they get paid the big bucks for.