Quote Originally Posted by 420marijuana420
wouldn't you know if you had one of the viruses?
No, babe. That's the problem. A large percentage of people who have the HPV virus never know it at all or display symtoms. That's because it often doesn't take hold in the outwardly visible part of your anatomy but rather up inside in the area of the cervix, which, of course, you can't see. The men who carry and transmit the virus to their partners tend to be even more asymptomatic. Sometimes people can get the actual genital warts, but sometimes they can just harbor the virus inside and have minimal symptoms or no symptoms at all. Those viral cells are unbelievably tiny, but they're sinister nonetheless. The viruses reside there in an infected area such as the cervix and set in motion cellular changes that eventually become cervical cancer. A huge percentage of women never even know they've been HPV infected till one year their Pap smear comes back showing either pre-cancerous or cancerous cells. That's why testing, vaccination before sexual activity begins and barrier-prevention methods like condoms are vitally important.

HPV and Genital Warts: Genital Warts Symptoms