Hello. Thank you for writing to us at healthcaremagic Human papilloma virus Or HPV is a cause of Genital warts. It is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The best and most reliable way to prevent infection from HPV is to avoid sexual contact with your girlfriend. HPV may be clinically silent and therefore most people don t know that they carry the infection unless they develop clinically visible warts. Nevertheless they may transmit the infection to others during the clinically asymptomatic stage. Unprotected sex is a risk factor for transmission of STD s including HPV. Even if protected, a condom offers only partial protection against transmission of HPV because it covers only shaft of the penis and leaves the base of shaft and all of neighboring area exposed for transmission of infection. Therefore, the chances of acquiring the infection from your sexual partner are realistic. Warts are asymptomatic; pain is not a feature of genitals warts and therefore seems unrelated in your case. Unfortunately, there are no tests to detect an asymptomatic infection in males unlike in females where a Pap smear may reveal viral DNA. The only way to know for sure whether a male is infected with HPV is when visible warts make an appearance. Regards