7ish years ago I had a possible HPV reactivation after  8 years of being clear. it was a single tiny bump and looked nothing like pictures I’ve seen or the original wart I had well over a decade ago ( didn’t look like any Google pics) I wasn’t biopsied either time I got checked, nor did the doctors look that closely.  I have an appointment to see my doctor about this but I wanted to get some thoughts. I’ve read through the forums pretty thoroughly and I’m not too concerned about HPV.  I’ve recently noticed a 2 small identical bumps on the top of my shaft and they look like the surrounding oil glands in the very center (small white gland that I can see all over when I stretch skin)  but when flaccid are more pronounced and they shine in the light, they are round,  smooth and almost unnoticeable when I stretch the skin, haven’t changed since I noticed them 2 months ago. Does this sound like a wart because I assume I won’t be referred to a derm and they will freeze it “in case it is HPV.” I haven’t found any similar photos online to this.  Your thoughts are appreciated, thank you so much for what you do here.

Welcome to the Forum and thanks for your questions. I'll be glad to comment.  How long have the lesions you describe been present?  What you describe does not sound particularly like a wart.  There are many, many dermatologic conditions that can appear cystic in the manner you describe.  My advice is that, if the doctor you see is not sure what the lesion might be, ask to be referred to a dermatologist.  If you request it, the doctor should make the referral so that instead of wondering what is going on, you will have the opinion of a trained professional.  EWH---

The spots have been there for at least 2 months, I seem to remember warts looking more like they were growing above the skin surface whereas this seems more pimple/cyst like. I  don’t seem to remember warts having any sort of white head in the center like this.  I don’t want to try popping it as I worry about making it red and maybe even worse but it looks like there would be an oil gland right in the middle that is blocked perhaps..

Thanks for the additional information. I agree with and support your decision not to squeeze or otherwise manipulate this lesion. That will increase the chances that your doctor will be able to make a diagnosis. The more you describe it the more it sounds like the sort of benign cyst, that people get from time to time and not a wart. ---

This definitely doesn’t seem like any wart I’ve seen online or in my actual lived experience, but bumps can mess with my head sometimes. I’ll leave it alone until checked, my experience here is that doctors readily call things warts without a second thought, and even at the STI clinic here they have done cryo on uncertain lesions before to “see if it reacts like a wart” and then decide it isn’t. It definitely creates unnecessary uncertainty, so a derm will be the route I ask for this time if they don’t know.

You and I are on the same page when it comes to clinicians treating lesions that they really cannot identify---