Had a question about warts that I believe to have come back. Around 18-20 months ago I was treated for warts. They were frozen off and went away with treatment. For the past year and a half or so I’ve had no issues and carried on living my life without much worry. About a month ago I went to my dermatologist who treated my warts in the past to have a routine check up of the warts. I was all clear. This past weekend I noticed what to me looks just like the warts I dealt with over a year ago. It is only what appears to be one wart by itself. My old warts were all over and a bunch in clusters. This is by itself. ’m pretty upset about it. I knew it was possible but didn’t think it would really happen. Around 3 months ago, I had protected sex with a girl and unprotected oral sex. At the time I noticed no warts, and this was before my check up last month. I know warts can be active in the skin without bumps but I’m a little confused. 

Do you feel I should reach out to this partner from 3+ months ago to tell her that I may have a new wart? Is it possible that I could’ve gotten a different strain of warts from her or a girl prior to her (I also had sexual encounters with an ex girlfriend around 5-9 months ago) ? I am going back to my dermatologist tomorrow to have it checked out but I’ve been a wreck with anxiety because I would’ve never put this girl at risk had I known these were to return. Thanks for your help. 

You're doing exactly the right thing by returning to your dermatologist to evaluate whether or not you really have recurrent warts. As discussed last time, it's certainly possible but is by no means the only potential explanation. For example, hypertrophic (overgrown) scar tissue can look like a wart. Also, the occurrence of only a single bump is atypical.

If indeed you have recurrent warts, it would be a courtesy to speak with your partner from 3 months ago. But for sure hold off until and unless the diagnosis is confirmed.

If wart(s) are confirmed by the dermatologist, recurrence of your previous warts is more likely than a new HPV infection that just happens to be in the same spot. Also, 3 months is early for new warts to appear. It can happen, but 3-9 months, or even up to a year, is more common.

Let me know the outcome after you have seen the dermatologist and we'll take it from there.

HHH, MD

Thanks for your reply. Just had my appointment with my dermatologist and the spot he looked at he said with a lot of certainty was more cyst like, nothing viral to it at all. Not a wart. He examined fully other spots and clarified no signs of warts at all. I also brought up something to him that he wasn’t really able to answer because there was nothing for him to see. A couple months ago, I’m not sure if this was before or after my sexual encounter with the one girl I mentioned, I noticed a tiny little bump that of course I thought was a wart. I sort of scratched at it a little bit and the skin peeled off and it was gone in like 2 days. This happened again maybe like a few weeks later, same thing, scratched at it and the next day it peeled away. Do those sound like warts or something else? I ask because it was in the same area twice. It hasn’t happened again since then. I don’t really want to over think it if there’s nothing there for me to even show anyone. Not really sure a wart would just appear one morning and be that easy to scratch off twice. And it makes me cautious if I should tell an ex partner of something that I have no idea was a wart and is no longer on my body. Looking for some thoughts. Thanks. 

Warts cannot be scraped away, at least not without causing a lot of bleeding and often prolonged healing. Warts are not all that superficial -- think of them as occurring "in" the skin, not "on" the surface. Anything you can scrape away and leaves no trace after the area heals is rarely if ever a wart.

I hope these comments help move you beyond your apparent obsession. Try to look at genital warts as a trivial inconvience, not an important health problem; and your past warts as something that will never be important to you or your current or future sex partner(s). Most people blow them off (figureatively) and I would encourage you to develop the same attitude. Among other things, this would mean a) no more self examination of your penis or anywhere else and b) no more internet searching about HPV or warts.

That winds up this thread. Best wishes and stay safe. That winds up this thread. Best wishes and stay safe. This being your fourth question in a month, try to make it the last for a while. All four reflected questions and issues that probably wouldn't have come to mind except for your OCD, at least not $100.00 in posting fees. We discourage repeated questions on the same topic or exposure, so let's make this your last on herpes, HPV, or other issues that reflect obviously low risk situations. I suggest it from compassion, not criticism, and to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties rather than reducing them, especially among anxious persons or those with OCD. (There's always another "yes but", "what if", or "could I be the exception" question, right?) . Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.