Can vaccination for HPV virus help someone who already has genital warts? Will it help to protect my partner?
- Mel*

Getting vaccinated for HPV is definitely still a good idea for you. That's because there are different types of HPV — some that cause warts, and others that cause cancer. Even if you have already been infected with the type of HPV that causes genital warts, you can still protect yourself against the types that can cause cancer, since you may not be infected yet.

Your being vaccinated will not protect your partner from getting HPV. But your partner can be vaccinated too. Both guys and girls should be vaccinated against HPV to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Even if you and your partner have both been vaccinated, always use condoms for any type of sex (oral, anal, or vaginal) to help prevent other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD
Date reviewed: February 2011

*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.