Hello, I was wondering if genital warts can be spread to the face (your own face, if you have genital warts), or any other part of the body. And if so, how can you prevent it? I am getting different answers on the internet. Hopefully I will get a solid one here.

Hello lost607,

Welcome to our message boards. Autoinoculation, in this case moving HPV from one skin area to another, can happen but is not thought to occur very often. This is because each HPV type prefers specific skin areas, making it much less likely that HPV found in genital skin, for example, will become established and create detectable diseases in other skin areas.

While such transmission doesn't seem likely, a common sense approach is probably sufficient. This might include limiting contact with skin where warts are present.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Fredo

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ASHA Moderator