HPV / Genital Warts (continued)

• If you are not treated:

  Since there are strains of HPV that are linked to cervical cancer, failing to seek treatment can be fatal. But since many types of HPV are basically harmless, they need only be monitored with yearly Pap smears (or more frequently -- every three to six months -- if a result comes back abnormal).

  If genital warts are allowed to grow without treatment, they can block the vagina, urethra, or anus, and become very uncomfortable. Depending on where they are on the body, genital warts can cause sores and bleeding. An increase in the size and number of the warts is also more likely during pregnancy and when a person's immune system is compromised by diabetes, an organ transplant, Hodgkin's disease, or HIV/AIDS, among other conditions