Are 80% of adults really infected?
According to the American Journal of Medicine in 1997, 74% of sexually active people (aged 15-49) will get an HPV infection at some point in their lives. I have also heard 80% from other sources, and this could well be true because STD infection rises as time goes on. It is made up of three different kinds of people: 1. People who currently have warts or dysplasia, 2. People who have, at some point in their lives, had warts or dysplasia, and 3. People who are carriers of the virus but don't know it because they never had any symptoms. Together, they make up 80% of people having sex today. This means a lot of your friends are infected, too. Scary, isn't it?

How BIG of a deal is this?
This is as big of a deal as you want it to be. You can either say, well, I have this, I have to live with it and I have to tell everyone I have sex with about it from now on. Or you can say, well darn, poor little me, I can't cope. Or you can do both. It's all up to you. But definitely tell people you're planning on sleeping with. Hell, you might even find they suddenly confess and say they have it too!
This is not to say that having HPV isn't hard. Believe me, I've had my moments. But we all have problems, right?

Where can I go to find people who are willing to be honest with me about HPV and help me with it?
I can tell you where I went. My local Health Clinic has both a Woman’s Health Clinic and an STD chapter (for guys), all in one building. There’s probably one of those in your town and I guarantee they won’t lie to you. Also, PlannedParenthood is a good place to go, if there’s one in your area. Go to www.plannedparenthood.org to find out.