Can you spread hpv warts by changing a diaper?

Answer 1

The saddest thing that no one, including the CDC, ever tells people in public health information concerning genital warts - is that they are NOT spread just by sexual contact.

Warts can spread to the genitals from a wart anywhere else on the body. Warts on the hands, or touched by the hands before contact with the genitals, can develop into genital warts by such non-sexual events such as inserting hemorrhoid suppository, or vaginal diaphragm insertion, or a shared towel.

It need not even be direct wart to skin contact. It can even be wart to shared surface to skin. HPV is a very durable virus, & can live many hours outside the body on both solid & porous surfaces, such as shared towels, bathroom floors, door knobs, faucets, & more. That's why such a large part of the population has at least 1 wart somewhere on their body.

Molestation is always a possibility when venereal warts are found on a child. But it's also possible that someone who changed the child's diapers who had warts on their hands could have been the carrier, or from a wart on the child's own hands from rectal itching or their own natural curiosity. Given the 3+ month incubation time for HPV, the original time & source of infection may be indeterminable.

I don't know how many posts I've seen where couples married 10-30 years suddenly turn up with genital warts, & wonder how an STD can possibly turn up after so long, & even who may have strayed in the marriage... When the truth is, the warts could easily have come from their partner's, or from their very own, hands.

It's a real pity that no one ever tells us these things, & that the public is lead to assume that venereal warts only arise from careless & likely unscrupulous bedroom activity...

My advice is - intermittently check your hands & body for warts. Also, check your partner's. If you see any warts, & there are a variety of types, treat them. Wash your hands frequently, & always think twice about where you put your hands, & where you let other people put theirs.

Good health & good luck to you & your niece... & to everyone else with similar concerns.

Answer 2

You can catch herpes by changing a diaper of a baby with herpes.