The human papillomavirus or HPV is a highly contagious virus that affects human skin and mucus membranes. Some types of HPV can cause precancerous lesions, but the most common and recognizable symptom of an HPV infection is the appearance of genital warts. As mentioned before, genital warts are extremely contagious, so you and your partner should refrain from intimate physical contact till the infection is cured. To answer your question - no, the infection is not a life long one, and in fact the type of HPV infection that causes genital warts does not last for very long. It is however very important to get medical treatment for genital warts, as they do not always go away on their own, and may instead turn into rather large growths. In addition, a person can often be infected by several different types of HPV, so you may have another HPV infection besides the one that is causing the warts.
Treatments that are available include topical creams that boost the immune system response, solutions containing trichloroacetic acid, and minor surgical procedures using laser treatment or liquid nitrogen.
Your question is slightly confusing, so I am not sure about the current status of you and your boyfriend with regard to an HPV infection and genital warts. However, you should note that removal of warts does not mean that the virus itself has also been removed. The virus can remain in the body for a long time after the warts have been removed (although certainly not for a life time), and in some cases warts may even recur. It is therefore advisable to be safe for at least eight months, and preferably for a year. Abstaining from sexual contact is probably impractical, so the next best way to do this is to use condoms. If the warts do not recur within a year, you can safely assume that the infection has been successfully fought.
answered by G M