HPV is very common. It can infect the genital areas of both men and women. It usually has no signs or symptoms and goes away on its own. There is no test yet for men to find out if they have HPV. But the most common health problem caused by HPV in men is genital warts. The type of HPV found on your HPV test can cause cervical cancer in women; it does not cause genital warts. Partners who have been together for a while tend to share HPV. This means that your partner likely has HPV already, even though your partner may have no signs or symptoms.
 
There are more than 100 types of HPV. Most are harmless, but about 30 types put you at risk for cancer. These types affect the genitals and you get them through sexual contact with an infected partner. They can be either low-risk or high-risk. Low-risk HPV can cause genital warts. High-risk HPV can lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, and anus in women. Although some people develop genital warts from HPV infection, others have no symptoms. Your health care provider can treat or remove the warts. In women, Pap tests can detect changes in the cervix that might lead to cancer. Both Pap and HPV tests are types of cervical cancer screening.

Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading HPV. Vaccines can protect against several types of HPV, including some that can cause cancer.

Signs and Symptoms
 
Cervical cancer usually does not have symptoms until it is quite advanced, very serious and hard to treat. For this reason, it is important for women to get regular screening for cervical cancer. Screening tests can find early signs of disease so that problems can be treated early, before they ever turn into cancer.
Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or groups of bumps in the genital area. They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower. A health care provider can usually diagnose warts by looking at the genital area.

Other HPV-related cancers might not have signs or symptoms until they are advanced and hard to treat. These include cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx (cancers of the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils).

HPV Tests
It is done to check for a high-risk HPV infection in women; For the DNA of the human papillomavirus. Like a Pap test, an HPV test is done on a sample of cells collected from the cervix. Abnormal cervical cell changes may resolve on their own without treatment. But some untreated cervical cell changes can progress to serious abnormalities and may lead to cervical cancer over time if they are not treated. This test will show whether a high-risk type of HPV is present in women. High-risk types of HPV cause changes in the cells of the cervix that can be seen as abnormal changes on a Pap test.

The HPV test is used to detect only high-risk types of HPV. Your doctor may diagnose genital warts that are seen during a physical exam. This test is not used to diagnose genital warts caused by low-risk types of HPV.Although HPV is found in both men and women, this test is not used on men.