How to Decrease Your Risk

1. Get an HPV vaccination. The CDC recommends that girls as young as 11 receive the vaccine. The HPV vaccine—and vaccines in general—have been the subject of controversy in recent years, so if you have had personal concerns about being vaccinated, you'll need to be extra diligent about following the remaining steps on this list.
2. Limit your number of sexual partners. It seems like common sense, but the more you spread the love around, the more you leave yourself vulnerable to infection. So skip the swinger clubs, and find someone special because as the saying goes: Never give the milk away for free.
3. Condoms, condoms, condoms. Birth control pills may minimize your risk of getting pregnant, but they don't protect against STIs. It's especially important to use condoms every time you're having sex with a new partner or with a partner with a questionable sexual history.
4. Remember that even oral sex can lead to the transmission of HPV, so even when you're not directly engaging in intercourse, remember that the same rules for safe sex apply.
5. Avoid public showers and swimming pools. That's right, the sad reality is that you can contract HPV without actually having sex. You just need to come into direct physical contact with the disease. Perhaps we've finally solved the mystery of those “cooties” that the kids were always so panicked about.

Don't Become a Statistic