I had what was identified as 1 single genital wart on my scrotum when I was 18. I got that removed via cryo and my doctor said it was nothing to worry about and did not need to disclose. I went on with my sex life as usual with no recurrences.

Now at 25 years old, I was diagnosed with 5 very small gw at the base of my penis, which I have also had removed via cryo and have seen no visible recurrence for 3 months now.

These new gw appeared about a month after unprotected sex with a new partner. I’m curious as to your thoughts about this being a recurrence from the initial infection, or rather the clinical manifestation of a new infection.

That being said, upon disclosing this diagnosis to a new subsequent partner (who I had yet to be intimate with) she left me which was very upsetting and I would prefer not to disclose in the future, given some further time without recurrence, as this rejection was the source of a lot of guilt and shame and would prefer to go about dating without disclosing if you deem it to be moral or ethical.

The dermatologist who removed my warts this time said I should disclose to future partners that I “have a history of gw” which contradicts my doctors opinion from my original diagnosis at 18. Could you please provide your thoughts on this? Thank you.

First a bit of background.  The majority of visible genital warts are caused by one of two HPV types- types 6 and 11.  Infection induces partial but not complete immunity (the immunity induced by the vaccine is stronger and has a near complete preventative effect).  Following treatment, if warts are going to recur as about 30% do, they recur within a few months on treatment.  Thus both the time since your initial wart diagnosis as well as the fact that these have occurred in a different location from your original infection make it more likely that your recent diagnosis was a new infection than a recurrence.  

Regarding disclosure- this is difficult and if you review some of the hundreds of past posts of the forum which deal with disclosure regarding HPV (we make them available to provide information to clients), you will see that we do not feel that disclosure is essential.  While in a perfect world people would not over react to disclosure as your recent partner did regarding a history of prior warts/HPV, over reactions occur all too often.  Our feelings about non-disclosure are based on the facts that if a person is sexually active and has not been vaccinated there is an approximately 80% chance that, whether they know it or not, they have HPV and that for most persons HPV infections are innocuous problems and nothing more.  

Thus, while disclosure is always preferable, it is not essential.  A compromise in dealing with future partners might be to have a discussion of sexual health with potential partners- are they vaccinated for HPV (if no, there is virtually no risk for infection and thus perhaps no need for disclosure; do they get regular sexual health checks ?(and do you?); etc.  Based on such a discussion whether or not to disclose may become more apparent.

Sorry I can't give you a straight up or down answer here. While disclosure is certain the best way forward, it is not essential.  EWH

1) I believe my dermatologist was under the impression that trimming my pubic hair (with an electric trimmer) caused my recent appearance of warts, although that may be a result of my not completely candid description of how I likely got my recent infection, which I was ashamed to be fully honest about. Given that it has been about 3 months without visible warts, do you think it would be safe to use an electric trimmer for my pubic hair again? It is my preferred method for “manscaping” and maintaining pubic hair is socially expected in my age group from what I’ve gathered with my psychosocial experiences regarding sex. My dermatologist advised to trim with scissors but it’s simply not nearly as effective at achieving a well groomed look. I’m curious as to your thoughts on that.

2) Do you believe that lifestyle choices such as drinking, smoking tobacco or marijuana, and sleep quality truly affect the probability of recurrence?

3) Thirdly, if a potential future partner says they have been vaccinated and we have both undergone standard sexual health tests with negative results, how would you assess the risk of using a condom as opposed to not using a condom for a monogamous long-term relationship?

2.  No

3.  If future partners are vaccinated, their risk for new HPV infection by the vaccine types of HPV is virtually zero.  The role of condoms in reducing HPV acquistion is modest (about 60% protection) at best

EWH

Do you think a depilatory cream such as a nair-type product would be too harsh on the skin down there and potentially affect recurrence?

Also, this is not an HPV-related question, but more recently I have had a couple canker sores inside my mouth on the right side. Typically at worst, it just looks like a small black dot that hurts a tad, usually just one at a time. I have no symptoms present on the exterior of my lips/mouth area. Are canker sores related to herpes, and is that another thing I should be worried about?

Thanks for your reply and I understand this will be the conclusion of this thread.

Regarding canker sores- these are often mistaken for oral herpes but they are different.  They do not respond to anti-viral therapy and are not contagious to partners.  They are a nuisance but not something to worry about.

Thanks for your thanks   This will complete this thread,  EWH